Anna 
PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao will face a tough challenge in his All-England debut from March 11-16 in Birmingham. The 25-year-old is set to meet Indonesia’s world No. 3 and defending champion Jonatan Christie in the opening round.
Jun Hao has previously triumphed over Jonatan in two out of their last three encounters, including victories at the Indonesian Open first round and the Japan Masters semi-final. He will need to replicate his impressive performances to make it to the second round.
Singles head coach Kenneth Jonassen acknowledged the difficulty of the match but pointed out that being the underdog might work in Jun Hao’s favor.
“It’s a tough draw for Jun Hao, facing the defending champion and a top-three player in the world. But being the underdog can sometimes help,” said Jonassen. “Jun Hao has beaten Jonatan twice before, so he will have confidence, but he must remain humble. This is a completely different setting to play in.”
While Jonatan is the favorite, Jun Hao can take motivation from his strong performances against the Indonesian. In Jakarta, Jun Hao fought back from a game down to win 21-13, 16-21, 21-12 in a thrilling match, silencing the home crowd. In November, Jun Hao staged an incredible comeback from 10-17 down in the third game to win 10-21, 21-18, 22-20, securing a spot in his first World Tour Super 500 final.
Jonatan did beat Jun Hao in the Denmark Open first round last October, so the Malaysian will need to be at his best to cause an upset.
If Jun Hao beats Jonatan, he will face either India’s world No. 10 Lakshya Sen or Japan’s world No. 11 Koki Watanabe for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, national No. 1 Lee Zii Jia, ranked No. 7 in the world, faces a tricky opening match against Hong Kong’s world No. 20 Angus Ng Ka Long. Angus has won four of their six previous meetings, but Zii Jia has won the last five matchups. If Zii Jia progresses, he may meet Singapore’s 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew in the next round.
Zii Jia could also face China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi in the quarter-finals if he makes it that far.
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