After a recent struggle, Leong Jun Hao finally found some light at the end of the tunnel. He was out of form and suffered loss after loss in his last few outings but finally got some relief after securing his spot in the Indonesia Open round of 16.

At this week's Polytron Indonesia Open, which is scheduled from June 2 to 7, the Malaysian badminton player faced Kodai Naraoka from Japan in the first round. He had an impressive start and took an early lead in the game by securing a four-point win in the first set. It was then quickly followed by the win in the second set, 21-17.

Leong Jun Hao had an edge over Naraoka in the head-to-head games. It was his seventh time facing him and marked his fifth win, keeping the impressive record consistent.

The win came with more relief, as it is his first since the All England event held in March. In that, he defeated Kenta Nishimoto, 21-17, 13-21, and 21-18 in the round of 32 to secure a spot in the next round. But then struggled against Koki Watanabe from Japan, 21-9 and 21-13, in a game that only lasted for 37 minutes.

Following that, he played at the Bank of Ningbo Badminton Asia Championships but suffered a brutal loss to Jonatan Christie, 21-13, 21-8, in the round of 32. This losing streak continued in his next outing at the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup, held from April 24 to May 3. He was defeated by Kodai Naraoka in round 3 of the round robin and by Joakim Oldorff in round 2. He suffered another loss against Shi Yu Qi of China in the quarterfinals.

Before arriving at the Indonesia Open, he played at the Singapore Badminton Open but again struggled to make it through the round of 32 after a loss to Chia Hao Lee.

Leong Jun Hao Opens Up About His Struggle After Winning Round of 32 at the Indonesia Open

The 26-year-old finally relaxed after securing a win after three months of long struggle. He opened up about his difficult time while talking to the media.

"It's difficult, can't really describe it, so yeah, it has been a difficult time for me over the past few months," he said. "It has been quite a while since I last had a good match like this, and to get a win is the result of believing in myself."

He also added that this win will bring "more confidence" for upcoming events.

"Hopefully, this win will give me more confidence and help me stay consistent in the next match."

Jun Hao will next face either Anders Antonsen of Denmark or Alex Lanier of France on Wednesday.

Written by

Ankita Yadav

Edited by

Ankita Yadav