Malaysia’s badminton campaign at the 2026 All England Championships got off to a quiet start on Tuesday, with only men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao advancing past the first round.
The 26-year-old world No. 26 endured a gruelling 121-minute match before defeating Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 21-17, 13-21, 21-18 to secure a spot in the second round. Leong will next face another Japanese opponent, Koki Watanabe, who caused a major upset by defeating third-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark 21-8, 21-12.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s world champion doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei suffered an early exit after being stunned by unseeded Danish duo Rasmus Espersen-Amalie Cecilie Kudsk. Despite taking the first set 21-18, the fourth seeds lost the second 12-21 and narrowly fell 23-25 in the decider.
Other Malaysian pairs also bowed out in the opening round. Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin fell 17-21, 19-21 to India’s Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto, while professional duo Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing lost 17-21, 18-21 to Taiwan’s Ye Hong Wei-Nicole Gonzales Chan.
The young pair Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri were defeated 13-21, 17-21 by Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, and men’s doubles professional Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi suffered a 9-21, 17-21 loss to Indonesia’s fifth-seeded pair Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.
Leong Jun Hao remains Malaysia’s sole hope to progress further in the prestigious tournament as the rest of the national contingent face early elimination.
