Jakarta: Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao delivered one of his strongest performances of the season at the Indonesia Open, defeating Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the opening round at Istora Senayan on Tuesday.
The world No. 27 showed confidence, patience, and a more aggressive approach as he overcame Naraoka, ranked No. 11 in the world, 21-17, 21-17 in 50 minutes. The victory ended Jun Hao’s recent struggles and gave him his first opening-round win since the All England Championships in March.
For Jun Hao, the key was not overthinking the result. Instead, he focused on playing each rally with belief and discipline.
“I just wanted to believe in myself. It has been quite a while since I played well like today and got a win like this,” Jun Hao told the Badminton World Federation.
“So I kept believing in myself throughout the match. I was not thinking too much about winning. I just focused on every point, one by one.”
The result was an important confidence boost for the Malaysian men’s singles player, especially after beating an opponent ranked 16 places above him. Against a player known for his defensive quality and rally control, Jun Hao stayed composed and took his chances well in both games.
Jun Hao will face a tougher test in the second round, where he is scheduled to meet either Denmark’s third seed Anders Antonsen or French rising star Alex Lanier for a place in the quarterfinals.
Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Cruise Into Second Round
Malaysia also enjoyed success in men’s doubles as professional pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani moved safely into the second round of the Indonesia Open.
The seventh seeds needed just 31 minutes to defeat Singapore’s Eng Keat Wesley Koh and Junsuke Kubo 21-17, 21-16 at Istora Senayan.
Sze Fei and Izzuddin, currently ranked No. 8 in the world, entered the tournament with strong momentum after reaching the Malaysia Masters final last month and the Singapore Open quarterfinals. They continued that form with a controlled and efficient performance in Jakarta.
The Malaysian pair started sharply, using aggressive attacking play and solid defense to keep the Singaporean pair under pressure. Their ability to control the tempo helped them take the opening game 21-17.
Although Koh and Kubo tried to apply more pressure in the middle of the second game, Sze Fei and Izzuddin remained steady during the important rallies and closed out the match 21-16.
The win sends the Malaysian pair into the second round, where they will face either Japan’s Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami or England’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy for a place in the quarterfinals.
Nur Mohd Azriyn-Tan Wee Kiong Exit Early
There was disappointment for another Malaysian professional men’s doubles pair, Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong, who were eliminated in the first round.
They fell to India’s Hariharan Amsakarunan and M. R. Arjun 18-21, 10-21, suffering another early exit on the BWF World Tour.
Despite that setback, Malaysia still had encouraging results on the day, with Leong Jun Hao’s upset win over Kodai Naraoka standing out as one of the key badminton news stories from the Indonesia Open opening round.
