Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao kicked off his Japan Open campaign in style after pulling off an impressive straight-games victory over higher-ranked Taiwanese shuttler Chi Yu Jen to book his place in the second round.
The world No. 30 needed just 50 minutes to defeat world No. 19 Chi 21-19, 21-16 in their opening-round clash at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Tuesday.
The victory also served as sweet revenge for Jun Hao, who had been knocked out by the same opponent in the opening round of the German Open back in February.
It marks only the third time this season that the Malaysian has progressed to the last 16, having competed in nine tournaments so far this year. The result will provide a timely confidence boost as he looks to build momentum on the BWF World Tour.
Jun Hao now faces a sterner challenge in the second round on Thursday, where he will take on either France’s Christo Popov or China’s Weng Hong Yang for a place in the quarter-finals.
Malaysia’s challenge at the Japan Open Super 750 continues later today, with national players set to compete across all remaining categories of the tournament.
