Jun Hao learns costly lesson in patience [WATCH]

KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Leong Jun Hao learned the hard way that patience is needed when facing a veteran like Indonesian Jonatan Christie after crashing out of the Malaysia Open on Thursday.

World No. 28 Jun Hao had a blistering 5-0 start in the first game, but world No. 4 Jonatan stayed cool to snatch a 21-18, 21-11 win in a second-round match that lasted 55 minutes at the Axiata Arena.

"I need to be more patient... in attacking and when playing aggressively. For sure, I had the chances to win here. But I am very disappointed to lose this match," said Jun Hao.

"Every bit of support helps... the fans were very supportive," he added.

The fact that Jun Hao had a 3-2 head-to-head lead going into the match rubbed salt into the wound, and the Malaysian was frustrated at missing out on his first quarter-final appearance at the Super 1000 event.

However, Jun Hao felt that past records are not a yardstick against Jonatan, who had a strong run towards the end of last year, winning the Korea Open, Denmark Open and Hylo Open.

"Past wins didn't really bother me because every time we meet, the conditions are different."

Jun Hao aims to break the quarter-final barrier in the coming tournaments, now that he is under national senior singles coach Tey Seu Bock.

His next tournament will be the India Open on Jan 13–18, where he opens his campaign against Japan's world No. 19 Yushi Tanaka in New Delhi.