Women's double Dania Sofea Zaidi and Low Zi Yu in action during the Petronas Under 18 Championship.(25th Apirl 2025)--RONNIE CHIN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttler Datu Anif Isaac is hoping to spring a surprise in the World Junior Championships with new partner Low Zi Yu.
Anif’s usual partner Dania Sofea Zaidi suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in her left knee in August, forcing mixed doubles coach Hazwan Jamaluddin to find a new partner for Anif.
Hazwan has settled on Anif-Zi Yu for the tournament starting on Monday in Guwahati, India.
While expectations are not high on the pair after undergoing only one month of training together, Anif hopes to defy the odds.
“I’m not setting any high targets as we have only been training together for a month,” said Anif after a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“We will just try to play as well as we can and see how it goes. It’s important for us to give our all and enjoy the game.”
While it looks tough for the duo, Anif believes that playing with a new partner could also have its advantages.
“Opponents have been analysing my game with Dania as we have been playing together for some time but it’s not the same with Zi Yu and we will try to use this to our advantage,” said Anif.
“It is definitely different playing with Dania and Zi Yu. Both have their own strengths.
“While Dania is good at the net and makes it easy for me to attack, Zi Yu is tall and is able to play at the back court too.
“This allows us to interchange positions and cover each other.”
Meanwhile, the 15-year-old Zi Yu, who memorably captured silver in the girls’ doubles with Dania in last year’s edition, will also be playing in the event this time with Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan.
Women’s doubles coach Rosman Razak believes both Noraqilah and Zi Yu need to step up in Dania’s absence.
“Dania’s injury is definitely a big blow as she is at the top of her game in both girls’ and mixed doubles,” said Rosman.
“While it’s difficult to truly replace a player like her, others need to step up.”
On when Dania will be able to return to competitions, Rosman said: “We hope she can return as early as possible.
“She had surgery and is currently undergoing rehabilitation. Both BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) and NSI (National Sports Institute) are doing a good job in aiding her.”
