National men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao got off to a winning start at the Japan Open by defeating a higher-ranked Taiwanese player in the opening round of the World Tour Super 750 championships this morning.
World No 30 Jun Hao took 50 minutes to overcome Chi Yu Jen, who is ranked No 19, in straight games, winning 21-19, 21-16 at the Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo.
It was sweet revenge for Jun Hao, who lost to the Taiwanese player in the first round of the German Open in February.
This is only the third time Jun Hao has made it to the last 16 stage in the nine tournaments he has played so far this year.
He will face a tough second-round match on Thursday, when he meets either French player Christo Popov or Weng Hong Yang from China.
Malaysian representatives will feature in all other categories of the tournament later today.
