Zakry and Fairuzizuan decide to become independent players

PETALING JAYA: Two of the longest serving doubles players Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif and Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari have left the national badminton team.

It was revealed at the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) exco meeting last night that Zakry and Fairuzizuan have left the national elite squad after 15 years of service.

The departure of Zakry and Fairuzizuan will not be good news to doubles head coach Rexy Mainaky, who is currently on holiday, with the London Olympic qualifying campaign in full swing.

The qualifying campaign began in May and it has narrowed down to Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong as the only strong candidate to represent the country in men’s doubles at the London Olympics next year.

It has also left BAM without a capable second or third doubles pairing as they prepare for the Thomas Cup Finals in China next year.

BAM president Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh said they have accepted the resignation of the duo without setting any conditions.

“Zakry and Fairuziziun sent their resignation letters to BAM on Aug 17 stating their intention to become independent players.

“We took into account their contributions to the country all this while, including the Thomas Cup, World Championships and SEA Games.

“The exco decided to let them go without tying them to any conditions,” he said.

Fairuzizuan was partnering Ong Soon Hock while Zakry’s last partner was Hoon Thien How.

Fairuzizuan and Zakry savoured the best moments of their career when they won back-to-back titles – the Singapore and Indonesian Super Series not long after they were teamed up by Rexy in 2008.

The pair reached as high as No. 4 in the world rankings but they struggled to find their footing on the international scene after that and Rexy subsequently split them.

Fairuzizuan-Soon Hock did not qualify for the recent World Championships in London but Zakry-Thien How were invited to take part and reached the second round.

On the positions of Thien How and Soon Hock, Nadzmi added he will leave it to the training and coaching committee to decide.

The BAM exco also decided yesterday that any independent players who qualified for the London Olympics on merit will be assured of participation.

BAM secretary Ng Chin Chai said it is two separate criterias when it comes to the world meet and the Olympics.

“BAM can decide on whom are the more suitable players to carry the challenge for the country at the world championships but at the Olympics, the rules are clear – who makes the cut, they will go regardless of whether they are in the national team or not.”

Posted by Lucas Liau on 2:14 PM. Filed under Top News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0