Kuala Lumpur: After a lengthy time out due to injury, national men’s singles player Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin must gear up to shoulder the challenge at the Sudirman Cup in Gold Coast, Australia, from May 21 to 28.
Iskandar, who was previously scheduled to make his first appearance at the Thailand Open Championship on May 30 has been told to prepare more seriously after being selected for the Sudirman Cup.
Coaching and Training (C & T) Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said listing Iskandar in the squad for the Sudirman Cup was important because he was one of the best choices to shoulder the responsibility along with top seed Lee Chong Wei.
Norza said the spinal injury suffered by Iskandar had healed well, and the player had begun training in the court with the other players.
“The dates of the Thailand Open and the Sudirman Cup are not far apart, if iskandar can prepare himself for the Thailand Open, why not for the Sudirman Cup? We want to send a strong team for the Sudirman Cup this time,” he said after chairing the committee s meeting at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM), Bukit Kiara on Friday.
Apart from Iskandar, other players listed in the squad were Chong Wei in the men’s singles, Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong and Teo Ee Yi/Ong Yew Sin (men’s doubles); Chan Peng Soon/Cheah Yee See and Tan Kia Meng/Lai Pei Jing (mixed doubles); Goh Jin Wei and Sonia Cheah (women’s singles); Vivian Hoo/Woon Khe Wei and Chow Mei Kuan/Lee Meng Yean (women’s doubles).
Malaysia were drawn in Group C of the competition with Japan and Germany.
Meanwhile, Norza said he had also warned V Shem/Wee Kiong to improve their form before heading to the Gold Coast.
Although the performance of the Rio Olympic silver medalists was not up to par, he said the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) had given them a chance to find their rhythm before the Sudirman Cup.
In the meantime, BAM technical director Morten Frost Hansen said selecting Yee See to pair up with Peng Soon was a fair and appropriate decision as the pair were seen to combine well in training, although they were yet to be tested in any competition.
See Yee replaced Peng Soon s partner Goh Liu Ying, as she needed to focus on recovering from her shoulder injury as well as nurse a long term knee injury.
— Bernama
