Latest news with #LeongJunHao
Reuters
5 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Top seeds Vitidsarn, An storm into China Open quarters
CHANGZHOU, China, July 24 (Reuters) - Thai men's top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn swept aside Malaysian Leong Jun Hao with a 23-21 21-7 win to march into the quarter-finals of the China Open on Thursday, while women's top seed An Se-young beat Sim Yu-jin 21-13 21-15 in an all-South Korean clash. Danish men's second seed Anders Antonsen recovered from a set-game blip to progress to the quarters, beating Taiwan's Lin Chun-yi 21-19 20-22 22-20. He will next face Frenchman Toma Junior Popov, who knocked out Canadian Brian Yang 21-17 21-16. Chinese men's third seed Shi Yuqi beat Irishman Nhat Nguyen 21-15 21-8 to set up a clash with compatriot and fifth seed Li Shifeng, who defeated Hong Kong's Angus Ng Ka Long. Taiwanese sixth seed Chou Tien-chen also booked his place in the quarters after beating India's HS Prannoy. However, Indonesian fourth seed Jonatan Christie was stunned by Frenchman Christo Popov 21-12 13-21 21-16. Women's defending champion and Chinese second seed Wang Zhiyi crushed Japan's Riko Gunji 21-15 21-13. She will next take on Taiwan's Chiu Pin-Chian in the quarters. Japanese third seed Akane Yamaguchi, Chinese fourth seed Han Yue, Chinese fifth seed Chen Yufei and Indonesian eighth seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung also made it through to the quarters in the women's draw. Yamaguchi next faces 17-year-old Unnati Hooda, who beat two-time Olympic medallist and fellow Indian PV Sindhu 21-16 19-21 21-13.s
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Jun Hao undone by lapse as countdown to Worlds begins
KUALA LUMPUR: Leong Jun Hao knows just how costly a slip can be at the top level. The world No. 26 was painfully reminded of this after squandering a golden opportunity to take the opening game against world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in their last 16 encounter at the China Open on Thursday — a moment that turned the tide of the match. Jun Hao led 19-17 in the first game and looked set to put the reigning world champion under real pressure. But a sudden shift in momentum saw him drop six of the next eight points, eventually going down 23-21, 21-7 at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou. "I was trailing early on but managed to catch up and take the lead," said Jun Hao after the match. "At 19-17, I didn't finish it off. That disturbed my mindset a bit. In the second game, I was on the less favourable side of the court. I just tried my best. "Overall, I don't think I played badly — I just couldn't keep the momentum going." The 26-year-old was visibly frustrated at letting the first game slip through his fingers. "I didn't make the most of the opportunity when I was leading," he added. "I became a little too defensive instead of staying aggressive, and that allowed him back in." The defeat extended Kunlavut's head-to-head record over Jun Hao to 4-3 — though all three of Jun Hao's wins came before 2019, when both were still juniors. More worryingly, the second-round exit marks Jun Hao's 10th in his last 11 tournaments — a troubling pattern that highlights the consistency gap the Malaysian must close if he hopes to challenge the game's elite regularly. Jun Hao will now return to training to regroup ahead of his World Championships debut in Paris from Aug 25-31. With his recent run of poor results, the former Asian junior champion knows he must buck up quickly if he's to make an impression in Paris.
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Jun Hao blows golden chance against world champ in China Open
KUALA LUMPUR: For a brief moment, Leong Jun Hao looked set to rock the China Open. The world No. 26 had top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn under pressure in their second-round clash in Changzhou on Thursday, but let slip a golden chance after leading 19-17 in the first game, eventually falling 23-21, 21-6 to the Thai ace. It was reigning world champion Kunlavut's fourth win over Jun Hao, tipping their head-to-head record to 4-3. Notably, all three of the Malaysian's wins came back in 2018 or earlier - when both were still rising prospects. The result marked yet another second-round exit for Jun Hao, who has now stumbled at this stage in 10 of his last 11 tournaments - a worrying trend for the 26-year-old as he continues his search for consistency on World Tour.
The Star
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Jun Hao falls to world No. 1 Kunlavut in China Open second round
PETALING JAYA: Men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao was left disappointed once again after his China Open campaign came to an end in the second round on Thursday (July 24). Jun Hao, who had hoped to build on his win over Kenta Nishimoto on Tuesday (July 22), found the going tough this time as he was up against none other than world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn. It was a gulf in class, and although Jun Hao managed to put up a fight in the opening game, fitness and tactical play proved to be the deciding factors as the Thai shuttler sent him packing 21-23, 7-21 after 48 minutes. Jun Hao's woes continued from last week's Japan Open, where he suffered an early exit after losing in the first round to France's Alex Lanier.
The Star
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
With more time under coach Kenneth, Leong says he can turn around his game
A job well done: Leong Jun Hao pulled off an impressive win over world No. 13 Kenta Nishimoto in the China Open first round. PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Leong Jun Hao insisted that he is on the right path under coach Kenneth Jonassen despite a difficult year so far. Jun Hao has suffered early round exits in all his individual tournaments in the men's singles this year except in the Singapore Open last month where he made it to the quarter-finals. Yesterday, the 26-year-old showed signs of positivity when he pulled off an impressive win over world No. 13 Kenta Nishimoto in the China Open first round to set up a mouth-watering match-up against reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand tomorrow. Nishimoto narrowly denied Jun Hao in the Swiss Open second round in March but the latter gained sweet revenge by claiming a 21-15, 21-18 victory in 45 minutes at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou. The world No. 26 Jun Hao is confident that with more time under Jonassen, he can turn around his form. Jonassen only joined the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in January and has been working on moulding Jun Hao into a more consistent player. 'Kenneth and I are working well together but I guess we still need some time to add some new technique to my game,' said Jun Hao in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 'Playing against different styles, we need a little bit more time to get our strategies right. 'Kenneth focuses more on technique and mindset and he has helped me so far. We just need to keep going.' The win against Nishimoto was much needed for the 2017 Asian Junior Champion after his tame first-round defeat at the hands of world No. 9 Frenchman Alex Lanier in the Japan Open in Tokyo last week. 'I managed to control the draught in the stadium quite well. The conditions here are quite tricky as the draught is quite strong,' said Jun Hao. 'For sure, this win makes me more confident. I need to prepare well to face Kunlavut next. I will focus on rest and recovery first before trying to come up with a plan against him.' Jun Hao knows he needs to raise his game against Kunlavut after losing to the latter in straight games in the Singapore Open. The world No. 1 Thai also came out on top in his home Open last year while Jun Hao's sole win over Kunlavut in senior tournaments came in the Austrian Open in 2018. Meanwhile, in the men's doubles, Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian suffered an early exit after going down 11-21, 10-21 to Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri. RESULTS (Malaysians only) First round Men's singles: Leong Jun Hao bt Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) 21-15, 21-18. Men's doubles: Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri (Ina) bt Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian 21-11, 21-10. Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Presley Smith-Jennie Gai (US) 22-20, 21-12; Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien bt Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Gadde (Ind) before prevailing 25-27, 21-16, 21-14; Gao Jiaxuan-Wu Mengying (Chn) bt Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin 21-15, 21-16.
