PETALING JAYA: The national singles players face an uphill battle to clear the opening round of the Asian Championships in Ningbo from April 7 to 12 after being drawn against formidable opponents.
Malaysia's top men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao (pic) faces a tough task against 2024 champion Jonatan Christie, who will compete as the third seed. The Kuala Lumpur-born player has beaten Jonatan three times previously but failed to repeat the feat when he lost at the Malaysian Open in Jan.
Compatriot Justin Hoh will take on Alwi Farhan in what will be a repeat of the semi-finals at the Thailand SEA Games last Dec, where the Indonesian emerged victorious.
It is a different scenario in the women's singles, where K. Letshanaa and Wong Ling Ching will each face Indian opponents in the opening round.
Letshanaa will take on last year's World Junior Championships runner-up Tanvi Sharma, who is currently ranked world No. 34. She had previously lost to Tanvi at last year's US Open.
Meanwhile, Ling Ching faces an even tougher challenge against former world champion P. V. Sindhu in the opening round.
Independent shuttler Goh Jin Wei will have to go through the qualifying rounds first, where she must overcome Khadijah Kawthar of Saudi Arabia and Mikaela De Guzman from the Philippines in Group A to progress to the main draw.
