Jun Hao clinches second world tour title at KL Masters

Jun Hao clinches second world tour title at KL Masters

The national ace beat his Taiwanese rival Lee Chia Hao 22-20, 21-13 in the men's singles final today.

Singles ace Leong Jun Hao said he felt the pressure to win and made sure he kept his focus on winning. (Bernama pic)
KUALA LUMPUR:
National singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao has clinched his second World Tour title after winning the 2023 Kuala Lumpur Masters badminton championship today.

He beat Taiwanese Lee Chia Hao 22-20, 21-13 in 43 minutes in the men’s singles final at the Titiwangsa Stadium.

Jun Hao started the first set well to lead 11-6 before emerging victorious in a duel of points against his opponent, ranked 37th in the world.

Lee tried to mount a comeback in the second set, but was let down by his errors in net play, and was unable to stop Jun Hao winning his well-deserved second World Tour title after the Indonesian Masters in Malang in October last year.

“Coming to this tournament I wanted to fight for the title; everyone was hoping for me to win the title here, so for sure the pressure was on me and everything I do,” he said.

Jun Hao was not the only Malaysian to taste success today as national professional mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See were crowned champions after beating the Thai pair of Pakkapon Teeraratsakul-Phataimas Muenwong.

The Malaysian pair worked hard for their title, winning the first set 21-9, then losing 17-21 in the second, and finally rising to the occasion and winning 21-10 in the decider, ending their six-year drought after their last title in the Russian Open in 2017.

Unfortunately, national professional men’s doubles pair Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong failed in their attempt to make it a Malaysian treble when they lost to Taiwanese pair Chen Cheng Kuan-Chen Sheng Fa 21-23, 17-21.

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