JAKARTA: Shuttler Leong Jun Hao couldn't have asked for a better way to mark his Super 1000 debut on the World Tour.
The 24-year-old kept his fairy tale run going at the Indonesia Open by defeating Taiwanese veteran Chou Tien Chen, the 2019 winner, 21-18, 13-21, 21-17 in the second round at Istora Senayan in Jakarta, today (June 6).
The win saw Jun Hao exact sweet revenge on world No. 11 Tien Chen after having lost to the latter in the quarter-final of the Spain Masters in March.
The win, however, was a hard-fought one as he had to keep his nerves in check after seeing a 14-7 advantage in the rubber game being slashed to 15-13 at one point.
Jun Hao admitted he was relieved to have staved off Tien Chen's spirited challenge knowing that the latter has a knack of staging a remarkable comeback.
"(Tien Chen) He's a tough and experience opponent. I know he can always come back during the decider, so even when I commanded a big lead at one point, I just kept telling myself that the match was far from over and I must take it one point at a time," said Jun Hao.
The latest win over yet another high-profile opponent, who is Olympics-bound, showed that Jun Hao's recent resurgence was no flash in the pan.
Jun Hao's other latest A-grade casualties included Indonesia's Anthony Ginting, whom he defeated at the Singapore Open last week, and Jonatan Christie, the All England and Asian champion, in the first round of the Indonesia Open on Wednesday.
Jun Hao has now matched his quarter-final run at the Singapore Open, a Super 750 event, last week.
He will be looking to go one better but standing in his way is China's Li Shi Feng, who outplayed Frenchman Christo Popov 21-11, 21-13.
"I believe my recent improved performance has got to do with my style of play as well as the confidence I'm enjoying. I want to keep riding on this momentum into the next match," said Jun Hao.
Jun Hao will need to be at his top once again if he's to overcome Shi Feng.
He had lost to the world No. 4 twice in over a span of one month during the Thomas Cup and Malaysia Masters.