KUALA LUMPUR: Men’s singles Leong Jun Hao will need to be at his best when he faces Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in the second round of the Swiss Open today.
The Kuala Lumpur-born shuttler overcame a stern challenge in the opening round, battling past Japan’s Koo Takahashi in a hard-fought 21-19, 22-20 victory on yesterday.
Despite being the favourite, Jun Hao had to steady his nerves to avoid a deciding set, eventually closing out the match in 54 minutes.
It was also a morale-boosting victory for Jun Hao after his early exit at the All-England last week, where he fell to defending champion Jonatan Christie in the first round.
“Good win today after a difficult start in both games, but he found a way to win by staying positive and believing in himself to find the best solutions,” said his coach Kenneth Jonassen.
Jonassen wants Jun Hao to maintain the same grit and composure against Nishimoto, acknowledging that the Japanese star’s experience makes him a formidable opponent.
However, Jun Hao has reason to be confident, having won two of their three previous encounters, including a victory at the Indonesia Masters in January last year.
“Tomorrow (today) against Nishimoto will be a good challenge against an experienced top player.
“It’s important to play according to the conditions here while also believing in his own strengths and understanding Nishimoto’s playing style. All of these are key elements of a game plan, which is crucial for success both tomorrow and moving forward,” he added.
However it was a disappointing outing for Malaysia’s men’s doubles shuttlers as all three pairs suffered early exits at the Swiss Open.
Top seeds Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani were stunned by Japan’s world No. 78 duo, Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita, losing 23-25, 21-15, 11-21.
Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin also fell short against Taiwan’s third seeds, Lee Jhe-Huei-Yang Po-Hsuan, in a 40-minute battle that ended 18-21, 26-28.
The same fate befell world No. 25 pair, Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong, who went down to Denmark’s Andreas Sondergaard-Jesper Toft 21-23, 18-21 in 41 minutes.
Meanwhile, men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh secured his spot in the main draw after winning two qualifying matches in Basel. He first overcame France’s Valentin Singer 21-17, 21-19 before battling past India’s K. Sathish Kumar 21-19, 19-21, 21-16 in a gruelling 69-minute encounter.
However, the world No. 50 faces a tough challenge in the opening round, where he is set to take on Japan’s world No. 25, Yushi Tanaka.
Another Malaysian hopeful, Tan Jia Jie, failed to make it to the main draw after falling to Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen 17-21, 13-21 in the second qualifying round.
In the women’s singles, S. Kisona also missed out on a main draw spot after losing 15-21, 11-21 to China’s Han Qianxi in the qualifiers.
