Jun Hao's rise to national No. 1 a huge confidence boost, but expectations get higher
PETALING JAYA: Singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao (pic) has now taken over professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia as the national No. 1 for the very first time.
But it is not a big deal for the Badminton Association of Malaysia national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen.
In fact, the Dane is unbothered by who holds the title of Malaysia's No. 1 men's singles player, whether it's one of his charges or an independent shuttler as long as it contributes to collective success.
The latest world rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday saw Jonassen's trainee, Jun Hao, climbing one spot to No. 26 in the world.
Meanwhile, Zii Jia, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation, slipped seven rungs to No. 28.
With that, the 25-year-old Jun Hao is now officially the country's highest-ranked men's singles player.
Even so, Jonassen stressed that this should not be seen as a rivalry between his players and any of the independent shuttlers.
'In this case, it doesn't really mean anything, as it is very unfortunate that Lee is out with an injury. I hope he will return to court soon,' said Jonassen.
Zii Jia is recovering from a right ankle ligament injury sustained during the World Tour Finals in December and is targeting a comeback in the Japan Open from July 15-20 in Tokyo.
'I don't see it as a very important competition between national players, my mindset is more towards all of us against the world,' added Jonassen.
Currently the top 10 players in the world are Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha), Anders Antonsen (Den), Shi Yuqi (Chn), Jonatan Christie (Ina), Li Shifeng (Chn), Chou Tien-chen (Tpe), Kodai Naraoka (Jpn), Alex Lanier (Fra), Viktor Axelsen (Den) and Loh Kean Yew (Sin).
Holding the status as Malaysia's top men's singles player now comes with added expectations for Jun Hao, who will need to raise his game.
Since finishing as runner-up at the Kumamoto Masters in Japan last November, he has yet to achieve any major breakthroughs particularly this year.
Jun Hao has also been battling internal challenges, including starting slow against opponents and struggling with consistency, despite scoring notable wins over top names such as Jonatan and Naraoka earlier this year.
These are among the key areas that Jonassen is focusing on as he prepares Jun Hao for the Japan Open followed by the China Open from July 22-27.
Apart from Jun Hao, another of Jonassen's charges, Justin Hoh, also moved up one spot to No. 42 in the world, while Eogene Ewe climbed two rungs to No. 101.
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