Latest news with #Naraoka
The Star
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Naraoka out to play China spoiler again after taming Hongyang
KUALA LUMPUR: Japanese shuttler Kodai Naraoka is out to end China's title quest in the men's singles event in the Malaysian Masters today. Naraoka is plotting a win against Li Shifeng, who is China's last representative left in the meet. The 2023 World Championships silver medallist prevented an all-Chinese semi-final after beating world No. 14 Weng Hongyang 21-12, 21-19 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil yesterday. World No. 8 Naraoka was pleased after coming out on top over the tricky Hongyang. 'Hongyang is not easy to play against, so I'm happy that I managed to beat him,' said Naraoka. 'Shifeng is also a tough opponent, so I need to prepare well to make the final.' If Naraoka manages to topple Shifeng, China's wait for a men's singles title in the competition will continue. Surprisingly, the badminton powerhouse have never had a winner in the event since the tournament's inception in 2009. Shifeng is under pressure to end the long wait in the absence of world No. 1 teammate Shi Yuqi. Based on the head-to-head records, Shifeng holds the advantage as he has beaten Naraoka five times in their past eight meetings. The latter's last win over the former came in the 2022 Korean Masters. Both Naraoka and Shifeng are eyeing a place in their first final this year.
The Star
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Naraoka out to end Shifeng's good run in Malaysian Masters semis
Kodai Naraoka. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star KUALA LUMPUR: Japanese shuttler Kodai Naraoka is out to end China's title quest in the men's singles event in the Malaysian Masters. Naraoka is plotting a win against Li Shifeng, who is China's last representative left in the meet. The 2023 World Championships silver medallist prevented an all-Chinese semi-final after beating world No. 14 Weng Hongyang 21-12, 21-19 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Friday (May 23). World No. 8 Naraoka was pleased after coming out on top over the tricky Hongyang. "Hongyang is not easy to play against, so I'm happy that I managed to beat him," said Naraoka. "Shifeng is also a tough opponent, so I need to prepare well to make the final." If Naraoka manages to topple Shifeng, China's wait for a men's singles title in the competition will continue. Surprisingly, the badminton powerhouse have never had a winner in the event since the tournament's inception in 2009. Shifeng is under pressure to end the long wait in the absence of world No. 1 teammate Shi Yuqi. Based on the head-to-head records, Shifeng holds the advantage as he has beaten Naraoka five times in their past eight meetings. The latter's last win over the former came in the 2022 Korean Masters. Both Naraoka and Shifeng are eyeing a place in their first final this year.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Malaysia Masters: Unfortunate day for singles camp, no representatives in second round
IT was a bad day in the office for Malaysia's singles camp, as all representatives - men's and women's – in the competition missed out on a chance to clear the opening round of the Malaysia Masters 2025 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, here today. Top national men's singles player Leong Jun Hao got off to a strong start, taking the first game 21-10 against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen but the world number 33 mounted a brilliant comeback to silence the home crowd, clinching the next two games 21-18, 21-9 to book his place in the second round after a gruelling one hour and 14 minutes battle. When met after the match, Jun Hao, the world number 25, admitted that he struggled to adapt to Nguyen's aggressive shift in tactics in the second and third games. 'I must admit that I was not comfortable in the change of gameplay during the second and third sets. I was a little unwell but that was not the factor that contributed to the loss,' he told reporters at the mixed zone, here today. Jun Hao, who skipped last week's Thailand Open 2025 due to a hand injury, has now faced early eliminations in six consecutive tournaments since the start of the year. Meanwhile, despite winning the first game 22-20, things took a turn for the worse for national shuttler Ng Tze Yong, who was forced to retire while leading 4-3, believed to be due to a right knee injury, in the second game against Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong. Tze Yong appeared to fall awkwardly while attempting to return a shot from his opponent and was then seen limping as he walked off and unable to continue the match. In the meantime, another shuttler Justin Hoh was also sent packing by fourth seed Kodai Naraoka from Japan, 14-21, 20-22 in 56-minutes. Justin admitted that he failed to keep his cool to play his first Malaysia Masters, which had affected his performance against Naraoka. 'I was feeling a bit nervous. I could not sleep last night. Not easy to play Naraoka but I had prepared to overcome my opponent but in the end I am still happy with my performance today,' he said. Meanwhile, two other Malaysian women's singles representatives - K. Letshanaa and Goh Jin Wei - were also booted out in the first round. The 21-year-old Letshanaa let slip a promising start after taking the opening game 21-10, only to lose momentum and fall to China's Han Qian Xi, 19-21, 10-21. Currently ranked world number 51, Letshanaa admitted she lost focus after leading the match, which allowed world number 48 Qian Xi to mount a strong comeback and extend her head-to-head dominance to four straight wins over the Malaysian. Jin Wei also endured a tough outing, going down to former two-time Malaysia Masters champion and sixth seeded veteran Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, 7-21, 15-21. Commenting on her fifth consecutive defeat to Ratchanok, the independent shuttler said there is still a huge gap between her and the 2013 world champion particularly in terms of speed and power on court.
New Straits Times
04-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Jun Hao delivers best when no one's watching
KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 26 Leong Jun Hao thrives when the spotlight is off — and once again proved it at the Sudirman Cup. Despite struggling for form and facing the odds, Jun Hao pulled off back-to-back wins over France's world No. 68 Arnaud Merkle and Japan's world No. 8 Kodai Naraoka in Xiamen. His victory gave Malaysia a 2-0 lead and a shot at beating Japan for the first time in 20 years at the Sudirman Cup. But the team narrowly fell short, losing 3-2. Jun Hao now hopes to ride the momentum into the Thailand Open (May 13-18) and Malaysia Masters (May 20-25), aiming for consistency on the World Tour. "With the team counting on me at the Sudirman Cup, I had to fight — doubts only fuelled me," said Jun Hao after stunning Naraoka on Thursday. "Hopefully, I can make some changes and be a little more consistent on the World Tour." The men's singles ace was tipped for a breakthrough after finishing runner-up at the Kumamoto Masters in November. There, he defeated India's world No. 18 Lakshya Sen, Japan's Koki Watanabe (No. 16), Naraoka and Indonesia's world No. 6 Jonatan Christie before falling to China's world No. 5 Li Shi Feng in the final. But since Kumamoto, Jun Hao has struggled to deliver, crashing out in the first or second round of several World Tour events until his resurgence in Xiamen. Remaining the underdog could be the secret to Jun Hao's success, and he'll be hoping to rattle the favourites again in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur this month.
Malay Mail
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Malay Mail
Malaysia 2, Japan shocked: Leong Jun Hao floors Naraoka in Sudirman Cup Group C upset
KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 — Malaysia captain Leong Jun Hao pulled off a major upset at the Sudirman Cup in Xiamen, China, stunning Japan's top men's singles player Kodai Naraoka to hand Malaysia a crucial second point in their Group C clash. The world No. 47 came out firing, storming through the first game 21-8 with a dominant display that saw him race to a 10-1 lead. Naraoka hit back in the second, regrouping for a 21-13 win to force a decider. But Jun Hao wasn't done. Despite trailing early in the third, he clawed his way back and held firm as the pressure mounted. With the score level at 12-all, the Malaysian unleashed a series of thunderous smashes that Naraoka couldn't match, sealing a 21-18 win after a gruelling 66-minute battle. Earlier at the Fenghuang Gymnasium, Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei gave Malaysia the dream start, sweeping aside Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa and Arisa Igarashi 21-19, 21-18 in just 39 minutes in the mixed doubles. However, Malaysia were unable to wrap up the tie early, as Goh Jin Wei fell 14-21, 17-21 to Tomoka Miyazaki in the women's singles. Up next, reigning Asian champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik are set to take on Japan's former world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in a much-anticipated men's doubles clash. The final match of the tie will see Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah face the formidable world No. 2 duo, Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida, in the women's doubles.
