Aichi-Nagoya: Malaysia’s challenge in the individual badminton singles events at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games came to an end after Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh were both eliminated in the men’s singles round of 16 at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
Leong, ranked No. 33 in the world, struggled to reproduce the level of badminton that had carried him to an impressive victory earlier in the Games. Facing Indonesia’s world No. 10 Alwi Farhan, the Malaysian was beaten 21-16, 21-11.
Watch highlights of Leong Jun Hao vs. Alwi Farhan in the 2026 Asian Games:
The defeat marked Leong’s fourth loss in five career meetings with Alwi and brought his individual campaign in Aichi-Nagoya to a disappointing conclusion.
It was a sharp contrast to Leong’s performance in the men’s team event, where he produced one of Malaysia’s standout results by defeating Indonesian star Jonatan Christie, the world No. 1, in the quarterfinals.
Against Alwi, however, Leong was unable to find the same rhythm. The Indonesian controlled the important stages of the match and pulled away decisively in the second game to secure his place in the next round.
Justin Hoh Falls to Loh Kean Yew
Malaysia’s Justin Hoh also saw his Asian Games men’s singles campaign end in the round of 16 after running into Singapore’s former world champion Loh Kean Yew.
The world No. 48 found it difficult to break down Loh’s fast-paced game, with the 2021 world champion recording a 21-14, 21-14 victory in straight games.
Justin had advanced to the last 16 after defeating Mongolia’s Batdavaa Munkhbat 21-11, 21-14 earlier in the day. That victory set up a considerably tougher encounter with Loh, who used his speed and experience to keep the Malaysian under pressure.
With both Leong and Justin eliminated, Malaysia no longer has a representative remaining in the men’s singles individual competition in Aichi-Nagoya.
Leong can nevertheless leave the Games with a notable result to his name. His earlier victory over Jonatan Christie demonstrated his ability to challenge badminton’s highest-ranked players, even though he was unable to carry that form into the latter stages of the individual event.
In women’s singles, Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching, pushed India’s Unnati Hooda to three games in their women’s singles second-round encounter. After dropping the opener 21-14, Wong fought back to take a tight second game 22-20 before Hooda edged the decider 21-19.
