Nusa Mahsuri's Mohd Ziyad Tahad in action against Soo Teck Zhi during the first round of the Sabah Open on Wednesday. - Starpic
PETALING JAYA: It was a day of mixed fortunes for Nusa Mahsuri’s shuttlers in the Sabah Open.
On Wednesday, the club’s Johor-born shuttler Mohd Ziyad Tahad made heads turn when he scored the biggest upset in Kota Kinabalu with a sensational win over former Asian junior champion and Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM)’s star player Soo Teck Zhi in the men’s singles first round.
The 18-year-old Ziyad, who is training under the Sidek brothers – Datuk Misbun and Rahman – fought gallantly to beat Teck Zhi 21-19, 18-21, 21-18 in 64 minutes.
Ziyad, however, ran out of gas in the second round when he lost to Sabah’s Winson Neo Vui Min 15-21, 19-21.
It was also all over for former national champion Misbun Ramdan Misbun, who is making a comeback after a long break due to an Archilles tendon injury.
Ramdan, the son of Misbun, went down 19-21, 15-21 to youngster Cheam June Wei of the BAM.
National back-up coach Hendrawan said that the 19-year-old Teck Zhi, who was touted to be the future national No. 1 after winning the Asian junior title in 2013, had been battling with inconsistency.
“Teck Zhi was not injured nor was he in poor condition. Youngsters are usually inconsistent. Today, Teck Zhi was tensed and he could not turn his game around. He was attacking all the way and could not change the rhythm,” said Hendrawan.
“His opponent played well. He could follow Teck Zhi’s speed and his defensive game was solid.
“This is a problem with our players. They are able to play their normal game when faced against a higher ranked opponent but they get all nervous when facing a lower ranked player.”
Hopes are still on Teck Zhi to bounce back from the shock defeat. He has been named for the Thailand International Challenge and the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold next month.
With Teck Zhi out, hopes are now on the other second stringers – Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin, Goh Soon Huat, Tan Kian Meng, Chong Yee Han, Soong Joo Ven and June Wei to keep the BAM flag flying high.
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