PETALING JAYA: Nhat Nguyen’s defeat to Kodai Naraoka in Paris on Wednesday proved to be a bittersweet moment, as it also brought down the curtain on Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin’s coaching spell with Ireland.
Nguyen went down after a 57-minute battle against the world No. 8 Naraoka losing 18-21, 14-21, ending Iskandar’s stint with Ireland on a subdued note.
Still, Iskandar can take pride in his achievements with the Irish team.
He first joined as a sparring partner to Nguyen in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, before being appointed coach in 2023, and played a key role in raising the standard of badminton in Ireland.
“Great effort from Nhat Nguyen and from coach Iskandar Zulkarnain. Fantastic work over the last cycle to help Ireland compete so well on the world stage,” Badminton Ireland posted on social media shortly after Nguyen’s match.
Badminton Europe also praised Iskandar’s dedication during his time guiding Nguyen and the Irish squad.
“Today (Wednesday) was Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin‘s last match coaching for Ireland, and what a journey it’s been! A great mentor and presence behind the scenes,” the body said in a post.
The 34-year-old coach will return to Kuala Lumpur to begin his new role with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) starting Oct 1.
He will take charge of the women’s singles squad and work alongside coaching director Kenneth Jonassen in an effort to lift the team, which has long struggled for form.
With Iskandar’s return to Malaysia, the vacancy in Ireland will now be filled by another former national shuttler, Yeoh Seng Zoe, who had previously served as a sparring partner and assistant coach.
Earlier, Ireland’s mixed doubles pair Joshua Magee-Moya Ryan also saw their campaign come to an end after losing to India’s Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto 11-21, 16-21.
