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Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen will aim for his first semifinal of the season when he takes on Malaysian qualifier Leong Jun Hao in the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open 2023 in Bangkok on Friday, June 2.
The only other time that Sen has reached the last eight at any tournament this year was at the Indonesia Masters in January before falling to Jonatan Christie in three games. After a few weeks of struggle, the 21-year-old seems to have found his range this week.
Sen needed three games to get the better of former World No. 9 Wang Tzu Wei 21-23, 21-15, 21-15 in his opener. The Indian then brought his best to the table to knock out the reigning All England Open champion Li Shi Feng 21-17, 21-15.
Lakshya Sen's big win over the fourth seed delighted Indian fans on a day Saina Nehwal and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty bowed out.
Sen and men's singles giant-killer Kiran George are now the only Indians left standing at this Super 500 event.
Lakshya Sen vs Leong Jun Hao: Head-to-head and prediction
Lakshya Sen and Leong Jun Hao are tied at 1-1 in the head-to-head. Their first-ever face-off was at the Malaysia International Youth U-19 in 2015, where the local hope emerged a 22-20, 21-18 winner.
Sen exacted revenge four years later at the Bangladesh International Challenge with a tight 22-20, 21-18 victory.
Leong Jun Hao was a prolific junior, winning the Asian Junior Championships and the silver medal at the World Junior Championships, both in 2017.
The Malaysian's transition to the senior circuit, however, has been slow. On the BWF World Tour, the World No. 65 has just a solitary title so far which came at the Indonesia Masters in 2022.
This year, Jun Hao won a men's singles bronze medal at the Southeast Asian Games. He has drawn inspiration from that run to qualify for the Thailand Open and make it all the way to the quarterfinals.
The fact that he needed three games to prevail over each of Sitthikom Thammasin and Christo Popov shows his fighting spirit and resilience. He will need to bring that same attitude against Lakshya Sen if he wants to put the Indian in a spot of bother.
However, Sen has tons of experience and has spent lesser time on the court than Jun Hao this week, which could be pivotal in deciding the outcome of this match.
Thailand Open 2023, Lakshya Sen vs Leong Jun Hao: Date and time
Sen will square off against Jun Hao in the men's singles quarterfinal match at the Thailand Open 2023 on Friday in the fifth match of the day on Court 3.
Date: June 2, 2023
Time: Approx 3.15 pm local time; 1.45 pm IST
Venue: Bangkok, Thailand
Thailand Open 2023, Lakshya Sen vs Leong Jun Hao: Where to watch & live streaming details
The match will be broadcast live in India on Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD channels. It will also be shown live on the Jio Cinema app.
Live streaming will be available on YouTube on BWF.TV as well.
Live scores can also be followed on the tournament software.
