In his budding senior career, world No.56 Jason Gunawan has bagged a handful of upsets, the latest coming in LI-NING Hong Kong Open 2024 first round.

The victim Kenta Nishimoto, who sits 45 places above Gunawan in the world rankings, joins a list that includes established shuttlers like Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo and four-time Olympian Misha Zilberman.

Gunawan however, is yet to crack the quarterfinals of an HSBC BWF World Tour event. And that is what he has set his sights on at his home tournament this year.

“It’s been a good season for me, I’ve surprised some higher-ranked opponents but I couldn’t reach the semifinals or make the quarterfinals consistently,” said the 20-year-old after his 21-13 21-18 win over Nishimoto. “I hope in the coming months, beginning this tournament, I can do much better.”

Asked what’s needed to make that step, Gunawan replied: Patience. No other words, it’s all about patience.

“Playing top players is way tougher and you end up more tired having used so much of your energy. Maybe my recovery hasn’t been good enough. I need to learn to do this better in future, it’s something I’d like to improve on.”

On defeating Nishimoto, Gunawan said: “It’s unbelievable. I just focused on every point, didn’t think about winning or losing. I wanted to challenge the opponent and do my best.

“I prepared (mentally) for three games. He chased all the shots and I didn’t expect that, but I want to do better tomorrow.”

To make the last eight, Gunawan must overcome Frenchman Christo Popov. The world No.28 won his match against Malaysian Cheam June Wei 21-19 21-10.

→ Results (Day 2)

→ Order of play (Day 3)

WHAT OTHERS SAID

“We are more relaxed than we were at the Olympics. We are more focused. That’s why I’m playing more aggressively.” – Kang Min Hyuk on his and Seo Seung Jae’s improved results post Paris 2024

“There was a bit of trauma from our last match with Mei Xing, although the partner was different. So we were alert from the start, we didn’t want to experience that again.” – Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi remembering the loss to Teoh Mei Xing and Anna Ching in the China Open first round last year

“I made it today. I haven’t won any matches in six months so I’m really, really happy. I think I did great.” – Thet Htar Thuzar after her first opening round win since Thailand Masters in January