Tough challenge: Leong Jun Hao will play China’s Weng Hongyang in the second round of the Indian Open tomorrow.
PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao got his year off and running with a huge breakthrough win over China’s Li Shifeng in the Indian Open.
Jun Hao had never beaten Shifeng before this, losing all four of his previous meetings with the world No. 6 but turned the tables on his rival superbly with a hard-fought 18-21, 21-17, 21-17 victory in the first round at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi yesterday.
The world No. 28 had never even taken a game against the Chinese ace before and it did not look good for him when he trailed 1-11 in the first game.
Jun Hao though displayed the fighting spirit that he is becoming renowned for to come away with a memorable win in an exhausting 78-minute match.
It was a great turnaround for the 25-year-old after he went down fighting in three games to Shifeng’s teammate, world No. 19 Lu Guangzu in the opening round of the Malaysian Open last week.
Jun Hao will next face another Chinese shuttler in world No. 21 Weng Hongyang tomorrow for a place in the last eight.
The Malaysian was delighted with his great start to the tournament.
“This win means quite a lot for me because before this, I have never even won one game against him.
“I managed to win the match and it feels great for me,” said Jun Hao in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“Shifeng is a tough opponent as he’s an all-rounded player. In the first game, I was not patient enough.
‘’In the second and third games, I tried to be more patient and my strategy worked well today (yesterday). I’m happy with this win.”
Buoyed by the huge win, Jun Hao, who is Malaysia’s sole representative in the men’s singles, is now looking forward to facing the tricky Hongyang next.
“Chinese players are not easy to play against and I need to recover well.
“I’m looking forward to the match,” said Jun Hao.
Hongyang reached the second round without having to lift his racquet after his first-round opponent, homester K. Srikanth withdrew from the tourney due to injury.
Both Jun Hao and Hongyang have one win each against each other and this points to an even match.
