Fairuzizuan-Zakry keep faith in partnership

KUALA LUMPUR: It has been three months since the men’s doubles shuttler Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari partnered Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif in an international tournament.

But there is no reason for him to doubt his partner’s ability. In fact, he is confident that they will soar high again when they make a return to competition at the Indonesian Open, which begins on Wednesday in Jakarta.

The duo are the defending champions and they are the fourth seeds in the Super Series event.

In the last two international outings, Fairuzizuan went without his partner and he played in the mixed doubles at the Sudirman Cup world mixed team championships in Guangzhou and in the Singapore Open, which ended yesterday.

Zakry was not selected for the Sudirman Cup because of his poor physical condition and he was dropped from the Singapore Open after missing most of the sessions with the physical trainers.

Fairuzizuan added that they were still compatible even though they had not played in as many international tournaments this year.

“We know each other so well and we will be able to play well together in the Indonesian Open,” he said. In the Pahang Open last month, the duo emerged as the champions for the first time on the local circuit.

“It will be tougher in an international tournament but both of us are ready. Our physical conditions are better.

“In my absence during the Singapore Open, Zakry has been training hard. We will give our best.”

In the Indonesian Open, the duo are in the same quarter as South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung.

“We have never beaten the Koreans before. It will be a big breakthrough for us if we can pull off a win over them,” said Fairuzizuan.

“If we can overcome them, we will try to go all the way to defend our title.”

The other pairs in the same half of the draw as Fairuzizuan-Zakry are top seeds Markis Kido-Hendra Gunawan of Indonesia and Malaysian veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah.

The other half has second seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Morgensen of Denmark, China’s Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng and Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong.

Swiss Open champions Kien Keat-Boon Heong will be hoping for a quick rebound after losing to eventual champions Anthony Clark-Nathan Robertson of England in the second round of the Singapore Open on Thursday.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 12:30 PM. Filed under Fairuzizuan, News, Zakry . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0