PETALING JAYA: The hope is on doubles shuttlers Ahmad Redzuan Zulwaqqarizal and Low Zi Yu to rake in the medals for Malaysia in the individual competitions of the Asian Junior championships in Japan after firing blanks in the mixed team event.
Yesterday, Malaysia slumped to a 0-2 defeat to China in the quarter-finals of the mixed team at the Yatsushiro City Gymnasium despite fielding several of the world’s top-ranked players.
The individual competition starts tomorrow and team manager Datuk Dr Wan Khalik Wan Muhammad is hoping for the shuttlers to shine.
Zi Yu will partner Redzuan in the mixed doubles and Genevie Lim in the girls’ doubles.
Redzuan is also on a double duty as he will play with Isyraf Hafizin in the boys’ doubles and will face the Philippines’ John Lanuza-Ralph Dalojo in the second round.
“Our focus now shifts to the individual competition and I hope Zi Yu and her partner Genevie, as well as Redzuan, can deliver a medal for Malaysia,” he added.
Second seeds Redzuan-Zi Yu received a first-round bye in the mixed doubles and will begin their campaign in the second round.
Zi Yu-Genevie also advanced directly to the second round where they will face Thailand’s Thitiwarada Buakaew-Nathida Buramart.
Wan Khalik insisted the defeat against China should not be viewed as a failure, saying the experience would only benefit the players ahead of the individual competition.
China have now ended Malaysia’s campaign in three straight editions, including the 2024 semi-finals in Yogyakarta and last year’s quarter-finals.
“We have to admit China were the better team today (yesterday). They are the defending champions and once again showed why they are one of the world’s badminton powerhouses.
“Although we lost in the quarter-finals, I am still proud of the team’s performance. We topped Group D after beating Macau, South Korea and Indonesia,” said Wan Khalik.
Malaysia will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s edition in Surakarta, where the team returned empty-handed.
