KUALA LUMPUR: Leong Jun Hao's overly defensive approach proved costly as the men's singles shuttler crashed out in the first round of the Denmark Open after losing to Japan's Koki Watanabe in Odense on Tuesday.
World No. 30 Jun Hao was comprehensively beaten 21-6, 21-19 by world No. 16 Watanabe in a 40-minute encounter at the SJF Bank.
Jun Hao admitted that his approach in the opening game put him on the back foot, and he was unable to turn things around despite increasing the pace in the second game.
"After the Asian Games, I recovered and prepared for the Denmark Open for about a week. Everything seemed fine, but I am not satisfied with my performance today," said Jun Hao.
