LEONG Jun Hao overcame an early setback to bounce back from a game down before defeating Chinaâs Lei Lan Xi in today’s opening round of the PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2024 at Axiata Arena.
Todayâs 13-21, 23-21, 21-12 win put the Malaysian on level terms with the Chinese who had defeated him in last yearâs Korea Open. The world-ranked 37th Jun Hao started on a wrong note after finding himself down 13-21 in the first game after failing to match Leiâs aggressive play.Â
Fans were put on the edge of their seats in the ensuing second game which saw both players fighting point for point, with Jun Hao edging the Chinese 23-21 to remain in contention in the rubber game.
Jun Hao regained his confidence and clawed back strongly in the decider, pressuring Lei from the start which eventually saw the 25-year-old Kuala Lumpur-born winning 21-12 in the marathon one hour 21 minutes. âIt was a hard match, especially in the second game which really tested my mental strength..but the support from fans lifted my spirits to fight for every point,â said Jun Hao, who will now clash against third seed Li Shi Feng in the second round.
Malaysiaâs professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia was also dragged into a three-game duel against China’s 40th-ranked Zhao Jun Peng before winning 21-19, 11-21, 21-14 in 61 minutes. After a tight first game, Zii Jia committed a series of errors, losing focus and allowing Zhao to get back into the game to win 21-11. The Malaysian however kept his composure with a more confident display in the decider to seal the game 21-14.
Zii Jia is set to play against India’s Kiran George who had beaten Japan’s Takuma Obayashi to advance to the next stage. âNot a good start in the first game but I was able to manage myself with better confidence in the second….happy I was able to manage my on-court pressure, keeping calm and remained focussed throughout the match,â said Zii Jia.
Meanwhile, it was also a close contest against menâs doubles pair Kim Yong Hyuk/Wang Chan but top seed Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik lived up to their billings with a 21-18, 22-20 win over the Korean pair in 33 minutes.
The Malaysian top pair take on Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi in their first encounter against the Chinese pair tomorrow.
âIt can be a bit tricky tomorrow as weâve never played them beforeâŚbut as for today, weâre quite happy with our performance, especially in handling fights for crucial points,â said Wooi Yik.
Earlier in the day, Malaysiaâs top seed mixed pair Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei cleared their early hurdles to check into the second round following a straight-game win over Thailandâs Pakkapon Teeratsakul/Phataimas Muenwong 21-12, 21-14.
âWeâre thankful to fans and spectators who came in early to the arena to support us today. Weâre truly highly motivated and gave our best to make it to the next round,â said Toh after the match.
Meanwhile, Choong Hon Jian/Go Pei Keeâs challenge in the tournament came to an end when they lost their first-round encounter to Korean mixed pair Wang Chan/Shin Seung Chan. The Malaysian young mixed pair put up a strong fight in the first game before losing 21-19, 21-16 in 44 minutes.
Mixed pair Hoo Pang Ron/Cheng Su Yin upstaged Chinese Taipeiâs Hung Kuei Chun/Tsang Hiu Yan 21-16, 23-25 and will have Denmarkâs second seed pair Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boke waiting for them in the second round.
In the womenâs singles, K. Letshanaaâs campaign was halted after she was sent packing by Chinaâs Han Yue, losing 21-14, 21-9 to the tournamentâs top seed in 33 minutes.
Malaysiaâs challenge in the womenâs doubles will see second seed Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan taking on Indian pair Simran Singhi/Ritika Thaker while Go Pei Kee/Low Yeen Yuan will battle against Australian pair Setyana Mapasa/Angela Yu.
Elsewhere, the sixth seed and former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore suffered a shock first-round 20-22, 21-9, 18-21 defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipeiâs world No.22 Wang Tzu Wei.
Top seed Viktor Axelsen had no problem overcoming Japanâs Koki Watanabe with a 39-minute 21-14, 21-11 win for a meeting against Thailandâs Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul while fellow countryman champion Anders Antonsen had to endure a three-game 55-minute match before sealing a 12-21, 21-9, 21-17 over Indonesiaâs Shesar Hiren Rhustavito to set up a meeting against teammate Magnus Johanessen.
Malaysiaâs Goh Jin Wei was forced to dig deep before winning over Ukrainian Polina Buhrova 21-16, 18-21, 21-14 and is up against Thailandâs Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the womenâs singles contest tomorrow.
