PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles shuttler Dania Sofea Zaidi is looking forward to reuniting with Low Zi Yu as the Johor pair bid to retain their gold medal at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Selangor from Aug 15-24.
Dania-Zi Yu will be back together for the first time since Dania suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury last September, which kept her out of action for nine months.
The pair last played together at the Malaysian International Challenge in Ipoh in August last year. A year earlier, they made their mark on the international stage by winning silver at the 2024 World Junior Championships in Nanchang.
The pair will be hoping to pick up where they left off after winning the gold medal together at the previous edition in Sarawak two years ago.
Dania heads into Sukma in encouraging form after marking her return to international competition by winning the Philippines International Challenge in Manila last week.
It was her first international tournament in 11 months, with Dania and new partner Goh Boon Zhe defying expectations to capture the mixed doubles title after beating Thailand’s Phuwanat Horbanluekit-Fungfa Korpthammakit in the final.
Despite the encouraging comeback, Dania said her coaches have reminded her not to get carried away as she still has a long way to go.
“My coach told me not to get carried away because I still have a long way to go and that I need to keep working hard in training.
“I’m really happy because all the hard work I put in while I was injured has paid off. Honestly, I never thought about winning the title. I just wanted to play well.
“Boon Zhe also told me he was really happy because this was his first title at senior level,” said Dania.
Dania had already shown promising signs in her first competitive outing since returning from injury at the National Under-21 Championships leg in Kuantan in July.
Partnering Tan Zhing Hui in the girls’ doubles, she reached the final before going down to Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan-Ong Xin Yee.
