PETALING JAYA: National singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen believes shuttler Leong Jun Hao still has time on his side to become an elite level player but needs to push himself harder if he hopes to succeed.
Jun Hao has had a disappointing year and faces a tough task to turn around his fortunes in 2026.
The world No. 28 has struggled with his status as the new national No. 1 following Lee Zii Jia’s injury troubles this year.
Jun Hao only reached the semi-finals once this year in the SEA Games in Thailand where he settled for bronze.
He will turn 27 in July next year and seems to be running out of time to prove himself capable of becoming a top player.
The experienced Jonassen though does not see age as a factor in Jun Hao’s career.
“For me, age is not an issue. I think many players have shown that age is just a number,” said Jonassen.
“It is how much desire you have to push your own abilities and boundaries.
“But you really need to want it because of course it’s hard work and that desire has to come from within.
“As coaches, we can motivate but I can’t do any of the reps for Jun Hao or lift the weights or hit the shuttle for him.
“That desire is key. You have to keep motivating yourself. What was your childhood dream? Keep going in that direction,” added Jonassen.
Jun Hao has beaten top players like Indonesia’s world No. 4 Jonatan Christie, China’s world No. 5 Li Shifeng and Japan’s Kodai Naraoka (No. 9) this year but has struggled to sustain his form throughout tournaments.
Jonassen stressed that Jun Hao needed to push himself harder if he hopes to become more consistent.
“We see that when players challenge him a certain way, he is still lacking stability in his game,” said Jonassen.
“In my opinion, he’s still giving away too many easy points which means that his opponents are not stressed.
“He has almost all the abilities but there are too many unforced errors in different areas of his game.
“It is actually consistency overall and fitness, and you must put that into play every time you step on court.
“That is basically hard work if you want to break into the world’s top 20 and stay there.
“It’s a lot of physical hard work and you need to also be mentally strong to do it day by day,” added Jonassen.
Jun Hao will next compete in the new season’s curtain raiser – the Malaysian Open from Jan 6-11 at Axiata Arena.
