Leong Jun Hao is in a race against time to be fit for the upcoming Malaysia Masters next week, after he suffered a hand injury at the Sudirman Cup which has ruled him out of the Thailand Open.
Leong was scheduled to take on Angus Ng Ka Long in the opening round of the Thailand Open which begins tomorrow, but the world number 24 has withdrawn from the Super 500 event.
The 25-year-old’s absence means Ng Tze Yong is the only Malaysian men’s singles shuttler in the main draw, where he will face China’s Weng Hong Yang.
Two other Malaysians – Aidil Sholeh and Justin Hoh – will have to play in the qualifiers in their attempt to secure a main draw card.
Leong’s withdrawal is a justified move, as he aims to rest and recover to feature on home soil next week.
The KL-born has the opportunity to build from an encouraging performance at the Sudirman Cup.
Given the captain’s armband and thrust as the first choice men’s singles, Leong turned in a positive outing in Xiamen, China to help Malaysia reach the quarter-finals.
He could not match the class of world number one Shi Yu Qi in the last eight, but to be fair the Chinese was unmatched for any of his opponents as he won all his matches comfortably.
Apart from that, Leong carved out a hard-earned win over Frenchman Arnaud Merkle, before producing his best performance of the competition to beat Japanese Kodai Naraoka in three hard fought games.
He will be aiming to fully recover from his injury, to turn in another good performance in front of his own home fans at the Axiata Arena next week.
Leong was scheduled to take on Angus Ng Ka Long in the opening round of the Thailand Open which begins tomorrow, but the world number 24 has withdrawn from the Super 500 event.
The 25-year-old’s absence means Ng Tze Yong is the only Malaysian men’s singles shuttler in the main draw, where he will face China’s Weng Hong Yang.
Two other Malaysians – Aidil Sholeh and Justin Hoh – will have to play in the qualifiers in their attempt to secure a main draw card.
Leong’s withdrawal is a justified move, as he aims to rest and recover to feature on home soil next week.
The KL-born has the opportunity to build from an encouraging performance at the Sudirman Cup.
Given the captain’s armband and thrust as the first choice men’s singles, Leong turned in a positive outing in Xiamen, China to help Malaysia reach the quarter-finals.
He could not match the class of world number one Shi Yu Qi in the last eight, but to be fair the Chinese was unmatched for any of his opponents as he won all his matches comfortably.
Apart from that, Leong carved out a hard-earned win over Frenchman Arnaud Merkle, before producing his best performance of the competition to beat Japanese Kodai Naraoka in three hard fought games.
He will be aiming to fully recover from his injury, to turn in another good performance in front of his own home fans at the Axiata Arena next week.
