After suffering early exits in his last six tournaments, Leong Jun Hao roared into form in spectacular fashion at the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024 beating Jonatan Christie to reach his first Super 500 final.

The Malaysian looked down and out at 10-17 in the third but found the mental reserves to stubbornly fight his way back, often throwing himself around the court to keep the point going. Leong forced the final error from Christie to win 10-21 21-18 22-20 in 77 minutes and earn a final against Li Shi Feng. All of Leong’s four matches have gone well over an hour.

“After so long, I’ve made the final of a higher level tournament, so I have to prepare well for the match tomorrow,” said Leong. “After losing the opening game I didn’t think of anything, I treated it like nothing to lose and had to fight every point. There was no easy point. I got my momentum and found my game at the end. I have had a few tough matches, so I need to focus on my recovery.”

World No.9 Li Shi Feng, who has had a sedate few months, made his first final since June’s Singapore Open. Playing – surprisingly – his first match against top seed Viktor Axelsen, Li was able to close it out in straight games, 21-16 21-15.

“It’s the first time I’ve played Axelsen and it was obviously a very important match for me,” said Li. “I just tried my best on every point. I never thought I’d make the final, so I will try my best tomorrow.”

What They Said

“Frustrating to lose as always, but I’m happy to get four matches here taking everything into consideration… will do my best to recover properly before next week’s China Masters.” – Viktor Axelsen

“My body didn’t feel so good, I’ve been a bit ill, so I wasn’t at my best. As it was a long match today, I just want to rest well before the final.” – Akane Yamaguchi

“It was really important for us. It’s a new start with a new team, the new year, so it’s nice to start with a week like this.” – Thom Gicquel

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