Kumamoto: Malaysia’s World No. 50 Justin Hoh has set up a clash with Malaysia’s World No. 7 men’s singles player, Lee Zii Jia, in the first round of the Kumamoto Masters in Japan on Wednesday.
This follows Hoh’s successful progression through the qualifying rounds earlier Tuesday.
Competing at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Justin Hoh impressed with a straight-sets victory over World No. 36 Jeon Hyeok Jin of South Korea, winning 21-15, 21-15 in the first qualifying match.
He then faced another South Korean player, Cho Geonyeop, in a grueling three-set battle, ultimately prevailing 21-15, 20-22, 21-17 to secure a spot in the main draw, where he will meet Lee Zii Jia.
This will mark the first international encounter between the two players.
Lee Zii Jia will undoubtedly aim to avoid an upset against Hoh, as he seeks a strong performance in this tournament to boost his chances of qualifying for the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, next month.
Currently ranked sixth in the BWF World Tour rankings, the Paris Olympic bronze medalist must finish within the top seven to secure a place in the season-ending championship, which offers a total prize pool of USD 2.5 million (approximately RM11.8 million).
Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen has already secured an automatic berth in Hangzhou as the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s professional men’s doubles pair Low Hang Yee and Ng Eng Cheong also advanced to the main draw after defeating Taiwan’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Chen Sheng Fa in a hard-fought match, 18-21, 23-21, 21-11.
They will face another Taiwanese duo, Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi Lin on Wednesday.
