Choong Hann: Jun Hao must pull himself together
IT will be a huge waste if national men’s singles Leong Jun Hao does not make it big.
The 20-year-old former Asian junior champion only made a comeback in June this year after being sidelined for nearly a year due to a series of injuries.
However, since making a return, the Kuala Lumpur-born has yet to make an impact.
In June, Jun Hao reached the quarter-finals of the Malaysia International Series but failed to get past the qualifying rounds of the Vietnam Open last week.
BA of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director Wong Choong Hann, however, has not written off Jun Hao yet but warned that his days will be numbered if he does not bounce back soon.
“It is normal to feel down, to feel mentally drained when your peers are moving forward while you stay put.
“But how long are you going to be in that position? Jun Hao must pull himself together,” said Choong Hann recently.
“Jun Hao must look at players like Carolina Marin (Spain) and Shi Yuqi (China), who are currently nursing injuries.
“But we all know when these players make a comeback, it will be a strong one.
“How are they doing it? Top players never doubt themselves.
“Jun Hao must have that mindset.” After a brilliant end to his youth career in 2017, where he won the Asian junior title and reached the final of the World Junior Championships, Jun Hao started 2018 with guns blazing.
In January, he scalped more established players like Soo Teck Zhi, Zulfadli Zulkiffli, Firman Abdul Kholik (Indonesia), Hu Yun (Hong Kong) and 2019 World Championships bronze medal winner Kantaphon Wangcharoen (Thailand) to reach the Thailand Open final.
Jun Hao then went on to reach the Austrian Open semi-finals, before claiming his first senior title at the Finnish Open in April.
It all started going downhill after that before injury got the best of him in October.
Jun Hao, who has dropped outside the world’s top-300 bracket, will compete at the Indonesia Masters next on Oct 1-6.