Badminton News: Leong Jun Hao prepares to develop his exhilarating form at the Thailand Open in Bangkok. The men’s singles commuter made it through qualifying before her fine form was capped by Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalist India Lakshya Sen in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Although he lost 19-21, 11-21 to world number 23 Lakshya Sen, it was still one of Leong Jun Hao’s best performances in this year’s World Tour competition.
The 23-year-old also reached the last eight at the Orleans Masters in France in April.
“Overall, I’m pretty happy with my performance in Bangkok,” said Jun Hao, who upset Thailand’s world No. 30 Sitthikom Thammasin and France’s Christo Popov (No. 36) en route to the quarter-finals.
“I started the quarter-finals pretty well but at the end of the first game, my opponent suddenly changed their style of play and I lost my chance to win. In the second game, I played with the wind and I found it difficult.”
“I tried to use more offensive shots, but it didn’t work. Going forward, I need to improve my hitting in longer rallies.
Jun Hao will then focus on the Taiwan Open from June 20-25 in Taipei. Meanwhile, fellow international Ng Tze Yong, who was also knocked out in the quarter-finals, lamented the lack of focus which he says contributed to his 19-21, 21-23 loss to number-one Lee Cheuk Yiu. 17 in the world of Hong Kong.
World number 24 Tze Yong led 11-6 and 11-5 in the first and second matches respectively but couldn’t hold on and ended up narrowly losing.
“My performance was good but I felt I wasn’t focused enough in the lead,” complained Tze Yong.
“I have to do better in the next tournament.”
The 23-year-old is expected to bounce back quickly for the Singapore Open, which kicks off on Tuesday. Tze Yong will open the competition against Irish player ranked 31st in the world, Nhat Nguyen.
Article tags: Leong Jun Hao, ng Tze Yong, Thailand Open 2023
