YOKOHAMA: Can national singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao claim yet another upset win over a world top 10 opponent?
The 25-year-old has the chance to do so in the Japan Open last-16 encounter against world No. 8 and reigning World Championships silver medallist Kodai Naraoka today.
Today, world No. 27 Jun Hao marked his Super 750 debut with a convincing 21-15, 21-17 victory over home favorite Takuma Obayashi.
This win exacted sweet revenge on world No. 33 Obayashi, who had defeated Jun Hao in the Kumamoto Masters qualifying round last November.
Jun Hao aims to continue the momentum from several months ago, when he reached back-to-back quarter-finals at the Singapore Open and Indonesia Open by defeating seeded players.
In Singapore, he overcame current world No. 9 Anthony Ginting. The following week in Jakarta, he secured impressive wins against Indonesian ace Jonatan Christie (world No. 5) and Taiwan's Chou Tien-Chen (world No. 10).
Naraoka, 23, has struggled to maintain the consistency that saw him ranked as high as No. 2 last year. His recent form has been less impressive, including a forgettable Olympic debut in Paris where he reached only the last 16 before losing to Tien-Chen.
Despite his recent struggles, Naraoka remains a formidable opponent for Jun Hao.
Interestingly, Jun Hao holds a 2-0 record against Naraoka. However, these victories date back to 2019 and the 2017 Asian Junior Championships final, where Jun Hao narrowly triumphed.
In mixed doubles, Chen Tang-Jie-Toh Ee-Wei, fresh from their commendable Olympic quarter-final appearance in Paris, returned to form with a 21-19, 21-14 win over Taiwan's Liu Kuang-Heng-Jheng Yu-Chieh.
Their path to the quarter-finals appears promising as they face Denmark's Mads Vestergaard-Christine Busch next.