IPOH: Sporting talent runs in rising shuttler Low Zi Yu’s blood.
Zi Yu made her presence felt when she became the youngest finalist in the World Junior Championships after winning silver with Dania Sofea Zaidi last October.
The Johor lass achieved the feat when she was just 14 years and 53 days old. Previously, Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon was the youngest at 14 years and 269 days old when she reached the 2009 girls' singles final in Alor Star.
Zi Yu has credited her family for her sporting genes.
Her father Darren Low was a former Johor state badminton and tennis player while her mother Linda Tan plays tennis socially.
Zi Yu’s brother Low Cheng Wei also played badminton and tennis while her sister Low Zi Xuan played netball.
"Growing up in a sporting family helped me to become a badminton player. My family supports me a lot in this journey," said Zi Yu.
"My father played badminton and tennis. When I was three, my father gave me a racket and I started playing the sport.
"My father said I had the talent and he encouraged me to go for training. I trained in Segamat under my father’s friend Wee Hock Leng."
Zi Yu shared that her friendship with Dania, who is also from Johor played an important role in the duo’s rise to become one of the most promising doubles pairs in the country.
"I knew Dania since I was nine as we were both from the Johor state team. We became friends and this helped our understanding on court," said Zi Yu.
"We complement each other well as she is good at intercepting the shuttle at the front court and create opportunities for me to attack.
"She also guides me on strategies and encourages me a lot."
The 17-year-old Dania joined the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) this year while Zi Yu, who is still part of the Johor state team, joins her partner for training in the national set-up before tournaments.
Zi Yu’s main target this year is to win gold with Dania in both the Asian (July 18-27) in Solo, Indonesia and world junior meets (Oct 6-19) in Guwahati, India.
On Saturday (April 26), Zi Yu-Dania made it into the semi-finals of the Under-18 National Championships after beating teammates Nicole Chau-The Si Yan 15-7, 15-7 at the Academy Badminton Perak in Ipoh and will next play another BAM pair Lee Joinnee-Nicole Tan for a place in the final.
Zi Yu is also competing in the girls’ singles and has reached the semi-finals as well after ousting BAM’s Lee Mun 15-11, 12-15, 15-6 and will face top seed Eng Ler Qi next.
