KUALA LUMPUR: National coach K. Yogendran believes men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao will show his true mettle in 2025 after a decent performance this year.
World No. 29 Jun Hao's standout result came last month when he finished runner-up at the Kumamoto Masters in Japan.
The 24-year-old overcame several higher-ranked opponents, including India's Lakshya Sen (No. 12) and Japan's Koki Watanabe (No. 11) and Kodai Naraoka (No. 7), before falling to China's Li Shi Feng in the Super 500 final.
Yogendran believes Jun Hao's strong showing has boosted morale in the national men's singles camp, which has had a challenging season.
For the record, world No. 6 Lee Zii Jia is the country's highest-ranked player but competes as an independent shuttler.
National player Ng Tze Yong is the other top Malaysian players but is still recovering from back surgeries.
"Jun Hao's second-place finish in Japan has sparked new motivation and strengthened the entire team," said Yogendran at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara today.
"It shows the rest of the team that they, too, can achieve great things, and that's very encouraging for us."
Yogendran revealed that Jun Hao had struggled with confidence after poor outings at the Arctic Open in Finland and the Denmark Open earlier this year.
"The Arctic and Denmark Opens were the first two tournaments I coached Jun Hao, and he was upset with his form — I was too," Yogendran admitted.
"But we sat down, identified what needed improvement, and focused on those areas in training before heading to Japan. Something clicked, and Jun Hao showed that hunger to prove he still belongs among the best."
With less than a month to go before the Malaysia Open in January, Yogendran's focus is to help Jun Hao rediscover his love for the game and continue delivering his best performances.