KUALA LUMPUR: National men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao believes he can close the gap with other top players like Lee Zii Jia and Ng Tze Yong if he improves his focus and consistency.
On Sunday, the former Asian junior champion bagged his maiden National Championships title following a comfortable 21-16, 21-13 win over Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara.
For 24-year-old Jun Hao, winning the national crown was a long time coming, especially after retiring during the 2019 final due to injury.
Jun Hao said: "Overall, I am satisfied as I finally won the national title.
"I hope this win will push me to improve my consistency, especially in international tournaments."
Jun Hao, who has never really hit the ground running since winning the Asian Junior Championships in 2017, noted that he would need to start playing in more higher-tier tournaments to close the gap with former All England champion and world No. 16 Zii Jia and world No. 21 Tze Yong. Jun Hao is ranked No 54 in the world.
"My initial target was to reach the top 50 by mid this year, and I am nearly there.
"For now, there is still a gap between me and the rest (Zii Jia and Tze Yong), but that is because they play in higher-tier tournaments more than me.
When you play enough in bigger tournaments, you build and improve on that consistency.
"That is why I need to try and break into that. I hope that in the next few months, I can at least break into the top 40, or better still, top 32," added Jun Hao.
The Kuala Lumpur-born's next big assignment is the Super 500 Korea Open next week.
He will open his campaign against former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
"I'm looking forward to playing him (Kean Yew). I will fight hard, and who knows, there might be an upset."