PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin (pic) is on the right path in rebuilding his career under Indonesian Nova Armada’s guidance.
Yesterday, world No. 68 Aidil captured the Sri Lanka International Challenge title after beating India’s world No. 210 Pranay Katta 21-19, 21-15 in the final in Colombo.
It was the 25-year-old’s first title since turning professional last year and joining Nova.
Nova was pleased with Aidil’s performance and believes he is on the right track to break into the world’s top 32 by next year.
“My target is for Aidil to play in higher tier World Tour events. So far, he is on the right path,” said Nova.
“In Sri Lanka, I only targeted for him to reach the last four as I only started coaching him last August but he surpassed this. I am happy with his progress so far under me.
“In previous tournaments, he lost in the quarter-finals or semi-finals but now he has managed to go all the way and win the title, so this is a good breakthrough for him.
“He has added more variety in his game and is physically stronger as well now. He needs to keep working hard after this to continue his progress,” added Nova.
Aidil seems to have found a new lease of life under Nova after struggling to find his feet in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
He won his maiden title in the 2023 Indonesian International Challenge while he was still in BAM but found consistency hard to come by.
Aidil though looks to have gained some confidence under Nova and did well to reach the World Tour Super 100 Indonesian Masters final last November before going down to home favourite Alwi Farhan.
He will be keen to continue his good form when he competes next in the Super 100 China Masters (March 11-16) and Vietnam International Challenge (March 25-30).
