KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — National men’s singles coach Kenneth Jonassen is counting on Leong Jun Hao to reproduce the form he displayed last year when he begins his campaign in this year’s Kumamoto Masters Japan 2025 tomorrow.
The coach, however, warned Leong, the runner-up in last year’s edition, that he must take his game to a higher level.
“No question about it… last year was a major breakthrough for him. Came a little bit out of nowhere, at that time. I was coaching from the outside, but the tenacity and the fighting spirit he showed were outstanding.
“I think he surprised a lot of us. I hope that this year, at the same venue, he will reproduce the same kind of fighting spirit. But I also know that 12 months have passed and he’s no longer an unknown entity to others now.
“His opponents have studied his game and that will make his task a lot more difficult when he starts his campaign tomorrow,” Jonassen told reporters here today, ahead of Leong’s opening round clash against India’s HS Prannoy.
Both players have beaten each other once, with Prannoy winning their most recent encounter at the 2022 Thomas Cup Finals.
Jonassen, meanwhile, is also eager to see how Justin Hoh performs against Japan’s Shogo Ogawa in the opening round.
“Justin has been working on new things, but he mustn’t forget who he is as a player. It has to be a combination. It’s always a hard task to beat a Japanese player on their home ground, so I want to see how he handles the pressure,” he said. — Bernama
