KUALA LUMPUR: Getting past the semi-final stage of bigger World Tour events will be Leong Jun Hao's main objective as he competes in the Arctic (Oct 8-13) and Denmark (Oct 15-20) Opens.
The world No. 29 aims to be more consistent and resilient in the crucial stages of a match to make his breakthrough in Europe.
He has thus far reached the quarter-final stage twice - at the Singapore Open in May and the Indonesia Open in June.
Jun Hao, 25, upstaged world No. 10 Anthony Ginting of Indonesia before losing to two-time Olympic champion Vikton Axelsen of Denmark in Singapore.
At the Indonesia Open, he toppled world No. 7 and local hero Jonatan Christie in the first round and overcame Taiwan veteran Chou Tien Chen (No. 9) before losing in the last eight to Asian Games champion Li Shifeng of China.
However, Jun Hao couldn't maintain his momentum in his last four tournaments - going down in the first round of the Japan Open and second round of the Korea Open in August. It was a second round exit for him in the Hong Kong Open and an opening round defeat in the China Open earlier this month.
Jun Hao, who reached the quarter-finals of the Arctic Open in Finland last year, will be making his debut in the Denmark Open.
"So far, I have reached the quarter-finals in the Super 750 and Super 1000 events, and my target is to get past the semi-finals in Europe," said Jun Hao.
"I need to improve my consistency and must also be strong during the crucial stages of matches.
"I lose out towards the closing stages, and I'm not sure whether it's luck but I need to improve so that I can win the close clashes.
"My attacking game is alright but I need to have more variation in my game.
"I will have an opportunity to break into the top 25, or even top 20 by the end of the year with better results," added Jun Hao.