Lucknow: In a thrilling match, Malaysia’s world No. 97, Justin Hoh, secured a straight-game victory against his senior and world No. 38, Leong Jun Hao, in the opening round of the 2023 Syed Modi International on Wednesday.
This marked Justin Hoh’s return to international competition after recovering from a ruptured left Achilles tendon in April. The first game saw a 2-2 tie before Hoh steadily widened the lead, ultimately winning 21-13. In the second game, Hoh, initially trailing at 7-10, made a stunning comeback, scoring six consecutive points to lead 13-10 and ultimately claiming victory at 21-17.
This win adds to Hoh’s two victories over Leong in their career head-to-head meetings, following the Malaysia International Challenge in February 2022. In the upcoming second round, Hoh is set to face Indonesia’s reigning world junior champion, Alwi Farhan, who defeated Malaysia’s Aidil Sholeh 21-17, 21-12.
Other Malaysian men’s singles players also performed well, with Cheam June Wei overcoming Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 23-21, 15-21, 21-9 to secure a spot in the second round against Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei. Soong Joo Ven emerged victorious against Meiraba Luwang Maisnam of India, setting up a second-round clash with Chinese Taipei player Wang Tzu Wei.
In men’s doubles, Malaysia had a strong presence in the first round, but only two pairs progressing to the next stage. Boon Xin Yuan/Goh V Shem faced a tough challenge against Japanese top seeds Akira Koga/Taichi Saito, losing 17-21, 24-26 in the first round. Meanwhile, Low Hang Yee/Ng Eng Cheong fell short against Chinese Taipei’s Chiang Chien-Wei/Wu Hsuan-Yi with a score of 18-21, 19-21.
On a positive note, Malaysian men’s pairs Arif Junaidi/Yap Roy King and Choong Hon Jian/Muhammad Haikal advanced to the second round. Junaidi/Yap are set to play Hariharan Amsakarunan/Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi of India, while Choong/Haikal will face Mark Lamsfuss/Marvin Seidel of Germany on Thursday.
