KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 31 Leong Jun Hao admitted his energy-sapping run in the earlier rounds at the Kumamoto Masters left him completely drained in today's final against China's Li Shi Feng.
Jun Hao, who had won four consecutive three-game battles leading up to the final, was unable to match the world No. 9 and fell 21-10, 21-13.
The Kuala Lumpur-born stunned higher-ranked opponents Lakshya Sen (world No. 17), Koki Watanabe (No. 11), Kodai Naraoka (No. 4) and Jonatan Christie (No. 6) in the earlier rounds before running out of steam.
Jun Hao admitted that the 76-minute semi-final win over Jonatan had taken a heavy toll on him.
"I was feeling tired during the final. I couldn't recover fully after the semi-final match," said a disappointed Jun Hao.
"I gave it my all, but it wasn't enough to challenge Shi Feng."
National coach K. Yogendran urged Jun Hao to adopt a more aggressive approach in the final, but the Malaysian lacked the energy to push his opponent.
Shi Feng capitalised on the situation, never easing his grip, and extended his head-to-head record against Jun Hao to 4-0 — all victories in straight games.
Jun Hao will not play in the China Masters next week, where he faces Japan's World No. 33 Takuma Obayashi in the first round.
"I can't even think about the China Masters yet. I need the next couple of days to fully recover," said the exhausted shuttler, who has lost twice in three encounters against Obayashi.