PETALING JAYA: It’s hard to climb the world rankings at the age of 24 but independent men’s singles player Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin (pic) believes that it is not too late.
Aidil, who was once a national under-18 champion in 2017, faced a challenging turn in his sports career when he was dropped and offered a role as a sparring partner by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) under a new restructuring programme in June.
However, coach Nova Armada saw potential in Aidil and felt it would be a waste to sideline him at such a young age when he should be competing actively in tournaments.
With the vision, Nova extended an invitation for Aidil to join the Sports Affair Badminton Club, a decision that proved wise.
This opportunity allowed Aidil to pursue badminton while significantly improving his performance.
Since August, Aidil has participated in six tournaments and successfully cleared the early rounds to reach the quarter-finals of the Indonesian International Challenge (IC) in Pekanbaru as well as the semi-finals of both the Malaysian and Indonesian (Surabaya) ICs.
Nova is determined to assist Aidil break into the top 32 within a two-year time frame.
“Aidil may be 24 this year, but I believe he has not yet reached his full potential,” said Nova.
“I recognised his potential when he was just 14 years old. He claimed the Under-18 title in 2017 and triumphed over Ng Tze Yong en route to the final of the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in 2018.
“He also defeated many BAM players which propelled him to join the national body in 2019, where he stayed until June this year.
“I plan to give it my all for the next two years, and if he doesn’t break into the top 32 in world rankings, then I will stop.
“However, I can see that he is genuinely dedicated to training full-time.”
Aidil did experience a significant drop in his world ranking, falling to No. 135 when he joined Sports Affair, as he was only sent to one tournament by BAM in the first half of the year, where he was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the qualification round in the Thailand Masters in January.
His consistent performances however saw him climb the rankings, positioning himself at the 92nd spot before dropping to No. 124 after crashing out in the Indonesian IC (Surabaya), where he was crowned as the champion last year.
