KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 29 Leong Jun Hao's back-to-back East Asian swing campaign on the World Tour ended in disappointment with a first-round defeat at the Korea Open on Wednesday.
Jun Hao failed to replicate his victory over Takuma Obayashi from last week's Japan Open, losing 22-20, 21-14 to the world No. 34 in Seoul.
The defeat is a setback for Jun Hao, who was hoping to build on his recent solid progress.
In June, he upset several top names to reach back-to-back quarter-finals at the Singapore Open and Indonesia Open. However, in Japan last week, Jun Hao only managed a last-16 finish.
Given the favourable draw, Jun Hao had high hopes of reaching at least the quarter-finals in Korea.
Against Obayashi, it appeared as if Jun Hao was heading for a straightforward win when he led comfortably at 17-9 in the first game.
However, the tide turned as Obayashi clawed back to seal the opening game.
With his confidence shaken, Jun Hao struggled in the second game. Obayashi capitalised, opening up a 5-0 lead and winning wire-to-wire.
Jun Hao offered no excuses for his defeat, taking full responsibility.
"I got off to a good start and held a healthy lead, but then things started to go differently and work to my opponent's favour midway through the first game," he said.
"I paid the price for being impatient. It was all due to my own mistakes."
Looking ahead, Jun Hao has vowed to bounce back stronger at the Hong Kong Open on Sept 10-15.
Fourth seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also cruised into the mixed doubles last 16 with a 21-17, 21-10 win over Taiwan's Lin Bing-Wei-Lin Chih-Chun.
Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing made a winning start in their bid to reclaim the Korea Open title they won in 2022.
They easily dispatched Americans Presley Smith and Allison Lee 21-14, 21-11 to set up a last-16 encounter with Taiwan's Yang Po Hsuan-Hu Ling Fang.
"It's a good start, but what matters more is that we need to maintain consistency," said Pei Jing.
"We're aiming to qualify for the World Tour Finals, so we need to keep delivering good results from now on."
Kian Meng underlined the pair's ambition to win the Korea Open for a second time.
"We've already moved on from the 2022 victory, and now we're starting afresh to try to win it again," he said.
Also making it through to the next round were Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai, who defeated compatriots Choong Hon Jian-Go Pei Kee 21-12, 15-21, 21-12.