Making heads turn: Leong Jun Hao beat China’s world No. 6 Li Shifeng in the Indian Open first round. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Don’t be too happy yet as there’s still a long way to go.
That was men’s singles coach K. Yogendran’s reminder to shuttler Leong Jun Hao after he made heads turn by sending China’s world No. 6 Li Shifeng packing in the Indian Open first round on Tuesday.
World No. 28 Jun Hao showed great fighting spirit to come from behind to beat Shifeng 18-21, 21-17, 21-17 in 78 minutes at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
It was a timely breakthrough for the 25-year-old after he lost all four of his previous meetings with the 2022 Asian Games champion in straight games, including the Japan Masters final last November.
Jun Hao also managed to turn around his form after losing in three games to another Chinese shuttler, world No. 19 Lu Guangzu, in the opening round of the Malaysian Open last week.
While pleased with Jun Hao’s victory, Yogendran is not celebrating just yet as his charge has another tough task against Shifeng’s compatriot, world No. 21 Weng Hongyang in the second round today.
“After Jun Hao lost to Guangzu, we had discussions on where he went wrong. I’m happy that he learned from his mistakes and did better against Shifeng,” said Yogendran.
“While this is a good win for Jun Hao and will give him a lot of confidence, we cannot be too happy yet as this is only the first round.
“This is not a final. There’s still a long way to go for him. He is facing a tough match next against Hongyang and needs to recover well.
“Let’s not put too much pressure on him. Chinese players have a few similarities in their game and Jun Hao needs to play well against Hongyang too,” added Yogendran.
While Yogendran is remaining cautious and is keen to play down Jun Hao’s win over Shifeng for now, his charge has kept up his reputation as a giantkiller.
The other world’s top 10 players that Jun Hao defeated last year were Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie (No. 3), Anthony Ginting (No. 10), Japan’s Kodai Naraoka (No. 7) and Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen (No. 9).
He also claimed impressive victories over Japan’s world No. 11 Koki Watanabe, world No. 14 Kenta Nishimoto, India’s Lakshya Sen (No. 12) and Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long (No. 16).
Can he add Hongyang to his list of scalps?
Jun Hao has already beaten the tricky Chinese player once in the 2022 Malaysian Masters qualifying round.
Hongyang though gained revenge when he defeated Jun Hao in the Asia Team Championships final last year.
It is all set to be an intriguing battle and Jun Hao has an opportunity to make his mark again in a higher tier competition.
He last made it to the quarter-finals in a World Tour Super 750 and above tournament in June when he made his debut in the Indonesian Open.
