Early exit no shame for Iskandar
News 9:58 AM
KUANTAN: Lanky shuttler Iskandar Zulkarnain can walk tall although his first appearance in Division One of the local circuit in the Pahang Open ended with a second round defeat on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old can be proud that he at least made top national back-up shuttler Tan Chun Seang break into cold sweat before going down 21-14, 14-21, 13-21.
The gutsy Iskandar showed that he is on the right track to end his junior career on a high by doing well in this year’s Asian and World Junior championships.
The world junior meet will be held in Alor Star from Oct 23-Nov 1 while the venue for the July Asian meet has not been confirmed following India’s withdrawal as the host.
Iskandar, who trains under Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) chief coach Sun Chenhua, wore a big smile despite yesterday’s defeat.
“My coach asked me to play in Division One and to challenge the back-up players. I feel quite satisfied that I was able to steal at least one game from Chun Seang,” said Iskandar.
“It was difficult to take command of the first game because the shuttle was fast. Chun Seang made too many mistakes. Still, it feels good to be able to give an experienced player a fight.
“The only other back-up player that I have played against is Kuan Kam Chung, who I defeated at the Thailand Satellite this year.”
Iskandar, who won the Dutch and German Junior Opens in March, believes he is shaping up well for the Asian and World junior meets.
“This will be my last chance to do well in these junior tournaments. I am looking at reaching at least the semi-finals in both meets,” he said.
Iskandar’s next tournament before the two major junior events is the 100Plus National Junior Circuit in Seremban from June 10-14 and he hopes to justify his status as the best junior shuttler in the country by winning the boys’ Under-18 title.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 9:58 AM.
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