Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s junior player Leong Jun Hao who just won the Asian Junior champion, is ready to take on bigger task at the Badminton World Junior Championships that will be held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, this coming October.
“The Asian Junior victory has boosted my confidence to play in the world championships. I’m going to treat that as a normal tournament, playing one match at a time, and will not let pressure get to me,” said Leong.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s badminton legend and former men’s singles coach of Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Rashid Sidek also offered some advice for Leong.
“Never be satisfied so easily. He must have the drive to close the gap between junior and senior players,” said Sidek.
Sidek who won the Asian Junior Championship in 1985 in singles and men’s doubles, said Jun Hao’s success was only in the junior level, Leong should understand the senior level is more competitive.
“Many players in senior level are far more experienced, and Jun Hao is going to feel more difficult to compete at that level. What he would need is to prepare himself mentally, practice daily and always be prepared for tournaments,” added Sidek.
Leong’s success at the 2017 Asian Junior Championship has broken China’s domination in the Asian Junior men’s singles from 2014 to 2016 via Shi Yuqi, Lin Guipu and Sun Feixiang.