KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — National men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao pulled off an upset by defeating world number 11 Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the opening round of the Indonesia Open at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, today.
The world number 27 secured a 21-17, 21-17 victory in 50 minutes to advance to the second round of the prestigious Super 1000 tournament.
The win marked Jun Hao’s fifth victory over Naraoka in their seven career meetings.
Jun Hao will next face either third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark or France’s Alex Lanier for a place in the quarter-finals.
Malaysia also had reason to cheer in the men’s doubles when world number eight pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani advanced to the second round after overcoming Singapore’s Wesley Koh Eng Keat-Junsuke Kubo in straight games.
The independent pair won 21-17, 21-16 and will next take on either England’s Ben Lane-Sean Vendy or Japan’s Takumi Nomura-Yuichi Shimogami in the second round.
However, it was a disappointing day for Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub Azriyn-Tan Wee Kiong, who bowed out in the first round after suffering an 18-21, 10-21 defeat to India’s Hariharan Amsakarunan-M R Arjun.
Also enduring an early exit were mixed doubles pair Jimmy Wong-Cheng Su Yin, who fell 19-21, 18-21 to China’s world number one Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping in a 45-minute contest.
The first-round action will continue tomorrow with several Malaysian representatives set to begin their campaigns, including top men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah. — Bernama
