Justin Hoh, Malaysia’s rising star, hit a career high at the Macau Open on Saturday in a significant milestone. The 21-year-old made it to his first-ever final in the BWF World Tour Super series.
This is Justin’s best performance since he started his badminton career in 2017.
Hoh overcame Indian rival Tharun Mannepalli in 80 minutes to win 19-21, 21-16, 21-16.
The world No 45 is enjoying a fine form at Macau Open 2025 which is a Super 300 tournament. He is now set to face the winner of the another semifinal match between Indonesia’s Farhan Alwai and Lakshya Sen of India in Saturday’s final.
Both players are ranked much higher than Justin in the world standings.
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The Macau Open offers total prize money of US$370,000 (RM1.58 million), with the singles champions getting awarded US$27,750 (RM118,792) and the runners-up walking away with US$14,060 (RM60,188).
The winners of the doubles events will take home US$29,230 (RM125,128) while the runners-up pocket US$14,060 (RM60,188).
The Rise of Justin Hoh
Justin Hoh Shou Wei began his badminton journey at seven years old. He burst onto the scene by winning the Under‑17 singles title at the Asian Youth Championships, followed closely by the U‑19 doubles crown at the Bangladesh Junior International with partner Fazriq Razif in 2019.
In 2021, he captured the Finnish Junior U‑19 doubles title with Ong Zhen Yi.
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2022 turned out to be a breakthrough year for the young talent. At the age of 18, Hoh secured the Malaysian U‑21 national title. He followed it up with back-to-back senior titles -Bonn International and Croatia Open in Europe. He closed that year with the Malaysia International Challenge title in December, before being officially promoted to the senior ranks in November..
In early 2023, he reached the final at the Iran Fajr International, followed by victory at the Uganda International.
However he was hit by a tragic injury when he ruptured left Achilles tendon during training. He was forced to sit out of the SEA Games. After remaining out of action for nearly nine months, Hoh made a comeback at the Syed Modi International in November 2023.
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He contributed to Malaysia’s bronze medal finish at the 2024 Thomas Cup team event in Chengdu. In May, he clinched the Slovenia Open, and later in July, finished runner‑up at the Northern Marianas Open before winning the Saipan International.
Hoh has struggled in higher‑tier BWF World Tour events. He has faced early exits in tournaments like the US Open and Canadian Open. His best 2024 World Tour result was a quarterfinal at the Taipei Open, where he lost to Chou Tien‑Chen.
A remarkable campaign at Macau Open could be a game changer for Justin Hoh and pump confidence in him to bigger events.
