KUALA LUMPUR: Former national champion Misbun Ramdan Misbun is shaping up well ahead of the selection trial for the Thomas Cup Finals to be held on Wednesday at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara.
On Sunday, the 23-year-old Ramdan nailed his first international title of the year when he defeated Adrian Dziolko of Poland 15-21, 21-18, 21-16 in the final of the Romanian International at Timisoara.
It is his fifth international title since leaving the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) fold last January.
He has been the most consistent back-up player although he has yet to prove himself in bigger tournaments. His previous best was making the cut for the main draw of the All-England earlier this month before going down tamely 15-21, 10-21 to Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan in the first round.
World No. 48 Ramdan is one of the five independent players invited to compete in the Thomas Cup Finals selection trial, which is being held for the first time this year.
The others are former world junior champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, Chan Kwong Beng and Tan Chun Seang.
The BAM players participating in the trial are Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin and Goh Soon Huat.
Only one shuttler will be selected to complete Malaysia’s singles cast. The others assured of their places are world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, Chong Wei Feng (14th) and Liew Daren (40th). The Finals will be held in New Delhi from May 18-25.
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