INDEPENDENT shuttlers Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif will usher in the first day of Hari Raya today without the presence of their loved ones or the delicious spread of ketupat and rendang.
But fret not. For they can still afford a smile after seeing their sacrifices of being away from home pay off big time yesterday – as they pulled off a stunning second round upset by ousting 14th seeds Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov of Russia 14-21, 21-15, 21-16 in the World Championships at the Tianhe Gymnasium.
The win was also sweet revenge for the duo, who lost to the Russians in the opening round of the Malaysian Open seven months ago.
For a while yesterday it looked as though they were heading for another defeat after they squandered a 10-5 lead in the opening game to lose 14-21.
Luckily, this time, the duo proved that they still had enough gas in the tank to last a thrilling 48-minute energy-sapping match and come out triumphant.
The Li Ning-sponsored Zakry-Fairuzizuan will take on Japan’s fourth-seeded Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa today with an eye on the quarter-final ticket.
Zakry, who will miss celebrating Hari Raya with his wife Wan Nur Syuhadah Che Adnan, is thankful for the win.
“This is our Hari Raya gift. We are so happy to have come this far. The Russians were ruthless ... fortunately, our tactics worked today,” said Zakry.
“Our coach (Razif Sidek) is not here but we have been in contact with him. He gave us some pointers on how to overcome the Russians.
“We are now motivated to go all the way. Our sponsors will reward us with good incentives if we make the top eight. It’ll be good pocket money for Hari Raya.”
Fairuzizuan was also thrilled with the win but far from pleased with Sozonov’s intimidation throughout the match.
“He was just intimidating us ... fortunately, we did not lose our cool. We hope to maintain our composure when we take on the Japanese. We lost to them once (in 2011 Indonesian Grand Prix Gold),” said Fairuzizuan.
“They are younger and faster. Our coach has guided us. Now, it all depends on how we can translate that on court.
“I have missed Hari Raya celebrations before because of my career. This time, though, it’ll be special as we have given our family a reason to celebrate with our good showing.”
Fairuzizuan-Zakry’s best achievement at the world meet was reaching the semi-finals in Hyderabad in 2009.
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