LEONG Jun Hao is back and on fire.
The national men's singles shuttler is one match away from being crowned Division One champion of the BA of Malaysia (BAM) Invitation Championships following his 21-13, 21-16 win over Lim Chong King, 20, in the final round-robin match at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
Staking his claim to be part of this year's Thomas Cup squad, Jun Hao, 21, could not have asked for a better run especially after winning Division Two last week.
Standing in between him and his second title is another 20-year-old, Ng Tze Yong, who finished second in the group following his 21-18, 21-19 win over Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin.
"To be honest, I wasn't really thinking about the countback before playing Chong King," said Jun Hao, who needed to win in straight games or it would have been Cheam June Wei in the final.
June Wei missed out by coming in third.
"I think it was unfortunate that players like Lee Zii Jia, Liew Daren and Soong Joo Ven were forced to pull out of the competition with injuries.
"This cleared the path for me and I took my chances. Tomorrow (today), I am going to give my best to win the title," added Jun Hao, who has been struggling with a nagging hip injury since his junior days.
Meanwhile, Tze Yong, who is gunning his maiden title this year, believes the standard of the Invitational Championships is higher than the International Series and Challenges.
"The opponents in this tournament are ranked way higher. I feel this tournament is tougher to play in," said Tze Yong, who won the Australian International Open last year.
Having already lost to Jun Hao in the group stage on Friday, Tze Yong is determined to not make the same mistakes again in the final.
"I will revisit the video of my match with Jun Hao. I will study his game and make sure I do not make the same mistakes again," he added.