KUALA LUMPUR: Men's singles shuttler Justin Hoh clinched the Slovenia Open on Sunday just two months after returning to competitive action following a long injury layoff.
In the final, the 20-year-old clawed back from a game down to defeat Indonesia's Prahdiska Bagas Shujiwo 19-21, 21-11, 21-15 at the Dras Centre in Maribor.
Currently No. 179 in the world, Justin is only the second Malaysian to win the Slovenia men's singles title. Former national player Misbun Ramdan won it in 2013.
Justin was sidelined for eight months due to an Achilles tendon rupture in April last year.
Shortly after returning from surgery, he suffered a right knee injury in November, causing him to miss the Badminton Asia Team Championship (BATC) in Setia Alam in February, which also resulted in him dropping out of the world's top 50.
Justin, however, managed to recover and return to competitive action at the Thailand International Challenge in March, and later made the national team that clinched the Thomas Cup bronze in Chengdu, China, earlier this month prior to the Slovenia Open.