KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao created a major upset in the Singapore Open when he sent defending champion Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia packing in the second round today.
World number 36 Jun Hao defeated the world number seven and two-time champion (2022, 2023) 14-21, 21-10, 21-8 after an intense one-hour battle at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to storm into tomorrow's quarter-finals.
It was Jun Hao's first win over the Indonesian in three meetings.
However, a bigger test awaits him in the last eight as Jun Hao will come up against world number one and reigning Olympic gold medallist Viktor Axelsen.
The Dane, rejuvenated after ending a six-month title drought by winning the Malaysia Masters last weekend, beat Taiwan’s Lin Chun Yi 21-16, 14-21, 21-16 in the second round today as he eyes his first Singapore Open crown.
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The 24-year-old Jun Hao had earlier stunned Japan’s world number 28 Kanta Tsuneyama in the first round while Ginting received a walkover from Malaysia’s professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia (hamstring injury).
Malaysian mixed doubles pair of Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei followed in Jun Hao's footsteps when they eliminated defending champions Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje of Denmark 21-17, 21-18 to cruise into the quarter-finals.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei also face a tough task in the last eight as they will have to deal with South Korean Olympic-bound fourth seeds Seo Seung Jae-Chae Yu Jung, who ousted Japan’s Yuki Kaneko-Misaki Matsutomo 21-19, 18-21, 21-16.
Newly-wed independent pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie, who won the Malaysia Masters title on Sunday (May 26), had to concede a walkover to three-time world champions Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong while trailing 22-20, 11-21, 1-11 due to injuries.
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The top-seeded China pair will face compatriots Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
In men’s doubles, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani defeated China’s Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi 21-13, 21-16 to set up a quarter-final date against another Chinese pair, He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu.
