ALL ENGLAND 2026: JUN HAO SAVES MALAYSIA’S BLUSHES ON OPENING DAY

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) -- It was a disappointing opening day for Malaysian shuttlers at the 2026 All England tournament in Birmingham, with only national men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao checking into the second round today.

In the first-round action at the Utilita Arena Birmingham on Tuesday, Jun Hao battled for 121 minutes to see off Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 21-17, 13-21, 21-18 and book his place in the next round.

The world number 26 will next face another Japanese player, Koki Watanabe, who stunned third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark 21-8, 21-12.

Meanwhile, reigning mixed doubles world champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei endured another misery at the world’s oldest badminton tournament, suffering their fourth consecutive early exits.

The fourth seeds fell to Denmark’s unseeded pair, Rasmus Espersen-Amalie Cecilie Kudsk.

Despite taking the opening game 21-18, the national top pair failed to maintain their momentum and went down 12-21, 23-25 in a 62-minute encounter.

Malaysia’s other mixed doubles pairs also bowed out of the Super 1000 tournament.

Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin succumbed to Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto of India 17-21, 19-21, while professional duo Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing were shown the exit by Taiwan’s Ye Hong Wei-Nicole Gonzales Chan, 17-21, 18-21.

The same fate befell national men’s doubles pair Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri, who fell 13-21, 17-21 to Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.

Professional duo Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi also suffered defeat, losing 9-21, 17-21 to Indonesia’s fifth seeds Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.

-- BERNAMA