Kuala lumpur: A first-round victory at the Malaysia Open 2026 has provided a timely confidence boost to national men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao to continue his campaign before home fans at Axiata Arena here, today. Jun Hao, 26, admitted that his straight-sets win over China's Wang Zheng Xing, 21-17, 21-17 was far from straightforward with the Malaysian having to dig deep especially in the latter stages to seal the match.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Jun Hao expressed that knowing his conclusion to last season wasn't very good, a win to start the year really means a lot. He is hopeful that tomorrow he can play with more confidence and be more consistent. He shared his satisfaction with the victory, stating that playing against any Chinese player is never easy, and to win in two games made him really happy with his performance.

At last year's edition, Jun Hao exited in the opening round after losing to another Chinese opponent, Lu Guang Zu, with scores of 17-21, 21-16, 13-21. He also endured a difficult run on the BWF World Tour, suffering five consecutive first-round defeats starting with the Korea Open 2025 in September.

Looking ahead, Jun Hao will next face either Taiwan's Lee Chia Hao or Indonesia's Jonatan Christie in the second round. He acknowledged that regardless of who he plays, it's definitely going to be tough, emphasizing the need to be more focused and mentally stronger for tomorrow's match.

Currently, Jun Hao is Malaysia's sole remaining men's singles representative at the tournament after professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia was knocked out in the first round by India's Ayush Shetty, losing 12-21, 17-21 in 39 minutes yesterday.