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The Star
a day ago
- Sport
- The Star
Jonassen frustrated by Leong's tame loss to Lanier
A struggle: Leong Jun Hao did not put up much resistance against Frenchman Alex Lanier (inset) in the first round of the Japan Open. PETALING JAYA: Reality has bitten men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao hard after his sobering defeat to Frenchman Alex Lanier in the Japan Open first round. World No. 24 Jun Hao was hoping to pull off an upset over world No. 8 Lanier but found the latter too hot to handle and lost tamely 12-21, 14-21 in 40 minutes at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium yesterday. The 26-year-old's defeat marked the end of Malaysia's challenge in the men's singles in the tourney as he was the country's sole representative in the event. Singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen could not hide his frustration after seeing his charge capitulate against the defending champion without putting up much resistance. 'Jun Hao lacks the consistency to challenge this kind of playing style and level,' said Jonassen. 'I'm also quite worried about how far away we are today from being able to push and make Lanier uncomfortable. 'Jun Hao tried his best but never got comfortable due to the pace, zero mistakes and point-by-point hard fighting attitude of his opponent which led to him feeling pressured in most rallies.' Jonassen admitted that Jun Hao's form was worrying with the World Championships coming up in Aug 25-31 in Paris and said that the player really needed to step up his game. 'I hate losing but worse is being unable to challenge a good opponent. 'Before this tournament, I was looking for answers in terms of preparation for the worlds, and what level are we at? 'Today I got some answers, we have a long way to go! Going forward, it's time to step up.' Jun Hao has been struggling for form this year with his best performance coming in the Singapore Open last month where he made it to the quarter-finals. The 2017 Asian Junior champion has suffered early round defeats in all his other individual events so far this year. On where Jun Hao needed to urgently improve on before the world meet, Jonassen said: 'There are two areas. First is pace of play which is the key. Being able to play faster and deal with opponents' fast-paced games. 'Second is he needs to realise the importance of each point. Understanding and accepting how much each point means against players at the highest level. 'If you don't make them uncomfortable and doubt themselves, they will do this to you.' Before the Paris showpiece event, Jun Hao has one last chance to prove that he can raise his game when he competes next in the China Open which starts next Tuesday in Changzhou.
The Star
a day ago
- Sport
- The Star
Jonassen can't hide his frustration over Jun Hao's tame loss to Lanier
National men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao in action against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen in the first round of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Wednesday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Reality has bitten men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao hard after his sobering defeat to Frenchman Alex Lanier in the Japan Open first round. World No. 24 Jun Hao was hoping to pull off an upset over world No. 8 Lanier but found the latter too hot to handle and lost tamely 12-21, 14-21 in 40 minutes at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium yesterday. The 26-year-old's defeat marked the end of Malaysia's challenge in the men's singles in the tourney as he was the country's sole representative in the event. Singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen could not hide his frustration after seeing his charge capitulate against the defending champion without putting up much resistance. "Jun Hao lacks the consistency to challenge this kind of playing style and level," said Jonassen. "I'm also quite worried about how far away we are today from being able to push and make Lanier uncomfortable. "Jun Hao tried his best but never got comfortable due to the pace, zero mistakes and point-by-point hard fighting attitude of his opponent which led to him feeling pressured in most rallies." Jonassen admitted that Jun Hao's form was worrying with the World Championships coming up in Aug 25-31 in Paris and said that the player really needed to step up his game. "I hate losing but worse is being unable to challenge a good opponent. Before this tournament, I was looking for answers in terms of preparation for the worlds, and what level are we at? "Today I got some answers, we have a long way to go! Going forward, it's time to step up." Jun Hao has been struggling for form this year with his best performance coming in the Singapore Open last month where he made it to the quarter-finals. The 2017 Asian Junior champion has suffered early round defeats in all his other individual events so far this year. On where Jun Hao needed to urgently improve on before the world meet, Jonassen said: "There are two areas. First is pace of play which is the key. Being able to play faster and deal with opponents' fast-paced games. "Second is he needs to realise the importance of each point. ''Understanding and accepting how much each point means against players at the highest level. "If you don't make them uncomfortable and doubt themselves, they will do this to you." Before the Paris showpiece event, Jun Hao has one last chance to prove that he can raise his game when he competes next in the China Open which starts next Tuesday in Changzhou.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Jun Hao outgunned by Lanier in Japan Open opener
KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 24 Leong Jun Hao's hopes of a memorable return to the Land of the Rising Sun were dashed after he fell to defending champion Alex Lanier in the opening round of the Japan Open on Tuesday. The 26-year-old Malaysian went down tamely 21-12, 21-14 to the 20-year-old Lanier, the world No. 8, who won the Super 750 title last year for a major career breakthrough. It was their first career meeting, and Jun Hao couldn't recreate the form that saw him finish runner-up at the Kumamoto Masters last November or upset world No. 4 Jonatan Christie at the Singapore Open in May. It was Jun Hao's first opening-round exit in three outings, after gradually finding his footing again following a patchy start to the season.
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Challenge for Malaysians to end hot streak of fresh Korean duo
PETALING JAYA: South Korean men's doubles hotshots Seo Seung-jae-Kim Won-ho seem unstoppable in major tournaments but can Malaysians end their hot streak? Seung-jae-Won-ho, who only combined at the beginning of this year, have already clinched three World Tour Super 1000 titles so far at the Malaysian Open, Indonesian Open and All-England. And they can add another in the Super 1000 China Open next week but first, they will compete in the Super 750 Japan Open starting today. The Malaysians have stopped them on their track thrice this year but in lower-tiered tournaments. Professional shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani have knocked them out in the Indian Open (Super 750), and former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik ousted them in the Singapore Open (Super 750). Having reached every final so far, the Koreans will be a tough nut to crack. And Seung-jae-Won-ho's stunning form has also seen them rise to No. 3 in the world and are only behind Sze Fei-Izzuddin (No. 1) and Aaron-Wooi Yik (No. 2) in the rankings. Their main goal is to win the title at the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris and the Malaysian pairs will need to be at their best to stop the duo from dominating in the next three tourneys. In the Japan Open, second seeds Aaron-Wooi Yik are likely to take on third seeds Seung-jae-Won-ho in a mouthwatering semi-final clash if both pairs justify their respective seedings. Aaron-Wooi Yik have been in fine form themselves since April, capturing the Asian Championships, Thailand Open along with the Singapore Open and finishing runners-up to world No. 7 teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Masters. Aaron-Wooi Yik will first need to overcome fellow Malaysians Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi in their opening match. A win will likely see them play Japan's Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura in the second round and if they make it into the last eight, they could face a more difficult test against either China's Paris Olympics silver medallists Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang or India's 2022 Asian Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty. Meanwhile, Sze Fei-Izzuddin, who are also the defending champions, should have little trouble getting past Canada's Kevin Lee-Ty Alexander in the first round. A trickier test, however, awaits them in the second round against either Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita or Taiwan's Wang Chi-lin-Chiu Hsiang-chieh. In other opening men's doubles matches involving Malaysians, Wei Chong-Kai Wun will meet teammates Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi while French brothers Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov stand in the way of Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub.
News18
2 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Satwik-Chirag Eye Japan Open Glory, PV Sindhu & Lakshya Sen Seek Revival
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lead India at Japan Open Super 750, aiming to end their title drought. Star Indian men's doubles shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will aim to extend their consistent performance on tour and end their title drought as they lead the country's challenge at the Japan Open Super 750 beginning Tuesday. Ranked world No. 15, Satwik-Chirag have reached three semifinals this season and made the quarterfinals at the Indonesia Open in June. After the semifinal finishes at the Malaysia and India Open in January, Satwik-Chirag missed multiple weeks because of the former's health problems and Chirag's lingering back injury. Now fit, the duo reached the semifinals at the Singapore Open and the quarterfinals in Indonesia. Satwik-Chirag will commence their campaign against Korea's Kang Min Hyuk and Ki Dong Ju. In singles, Lakshya Sen and double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will aim to regain form at the USD 950,000 event. Lakshya has struggled this season with multiple first-round exits, his best performance being a quarterfinal finish at the All England. Hampered by a back injury that forced him to retire against Lin Chun-Yi at the Singapore Open, he showed glimpses of regaining touch during a narrow three-game defeat to world No. 3 Shi Yu Qi in Indonesia. Lakshya, now ranked 18th, starts against China's Wang Zheng Xing. Sindhu, ranked 16th, had her best performance this year with a quarterfinal at the India Open in January. The former world champion, who turned 30 this month, has faced four first-round and three second-round exits in 2025. If Sindhu wins her first-round match, she is expected to face third seed Akane Yamaguchi in the second round. Among others, Unnati Hooda, a Taipei Open semifinalist earlier in 2025, faces seventh seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the opening round, while Anupama Upadhyaya takes on fellow Indian Rakshitha Ramraj. In men's doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi will face Korea's third seeds Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae. Women's doubles pairs Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi and the Panda sisters, Rutaparna and Swetaparna, are also competing. Schedule for July 15 Kokona Ishikawa-Maiko Kawazoe vs Rutuparna & Swetaparna Panda: 1:10 pm IST (With PTI Inputs) view comments First Published: July 14, 2025, 10:05 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
