MEN'S singles Leong Jun Hao believes he is slowly regaining his form and could soon be fighting against elite shuttlers in top-tier tournaments.
The 2017 Asian junior champion, who has struggled to find his rhythm in the last couple of years due to injury, was influential in helping Malaysia land their maiden Badminton Asia Team Championships title.
The 23-year-old said he is ready to start competing in top-tier tournaments but will need to improve his world ranking first.
"I may not be at my best yet, but I am feeling great, and I know that I'm slowly regaining my form," said the world No 127, who contributed two points for Malaysia in the wins over Singapore and Japan in the group stages of the BATC last week.
Jun Hao, who played third singles, did not have to take to court in the semi-finals and final as Malaysia had scored 3-0 wins over South Korea and Indonesia, respectively.
"My condition is about 70 to 80 per cent right now. I am still on the reserve list for some of the higher-tier tournaments.
"I'm just waiting for my chance to improve on my world ranking.
"In the meantime, I do hope I will be considered for other team events like the Thomas Cup, Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games this year," added Jun Hao.
The other Malaysians ranked higher than Jun Hao are world No 7 Lee Zii Jia, Liew Daren (No 36), Ng Tze Yong (No 46), Soong Joo Ven (No 64), Cheam June Wei (No 69), Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin (No 98), Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin (No 109), Soo Teck Zhi (No 121) and Yeoh Seng Zoe (No 124).