Malaysian singles coach Kenneth Jonassen believes that World No.51 Justin Hoh can overcome the tough first-round battle against Japan’s world No. 43 Takuma Obayashi at the German Open in Mulheim on Wednesday with a gameplan.
The Malaysian won only their previous meeting at the Osaka International Challenge in 2023.
Incidentally, Obayashi has a 3-1 record against Justin’s higher-ranked teammate and World No.27 Leong Jun Hao.
“Obayashi is a tough challenger for sure. He’s a very, very physical player and fit. This promises a great contest for sure,” said Jonassen.
“Of course, I believe Justin has the ability to win, but I also know that it’s gonna be a tough one to find a solution,” added Jonassen.
“I do believe emotions win points and gameplan can win matches. It’s about how Justin sticks to the plan and executes it.
“This is just not about him but also other players to become quality shuttlers.
“These (against Kobayashi) are exactly the kind of matches that I’m looking to for our players. I’m not finding easy tournaments to go up the world rankings, but I want the shuttlers to actually face the level that you have to go through if you really want to become good.”
Hoh is likely to face the much-improved World No.26 Singaporean Jason Teh, who won the Thailand Masters last month, in the second round and 2021 World Champion Loh Kean Yew in the quarter-finals.
World No.57 Cheam June Wei, an independent shuttler and sparring partner for the Malaysian shuttlers, will play a qualifier in the opening match.
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