I’m giving my career another crack, says Iskandar

KUALA LUMPUR: Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin has decided to give his badminton career another shot.

The 26-year-old reported for training at the Academy Badminton Malaysia ( ABM) yesterday after a five-day break with his family in Muar.

Iskandar has been mulling about his future after losing in the quarter-finals of the recent Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.

Iskandar also failed to live up to his status as the first singles player in the team event that saw Malaysia losing 3-0 to Indonesia in the final.

“I have decided not to quit the national team although I had thought about it,” said Iskandar.

“My father talked me out of it. My family encouraged me to keep on fighting.

“I was distraught during the Games, I felt that I let my teammates, coaches and the nation down.

“It was not easy to make a comeback after an injury. I worked hard but I still couldn’t give my best.”

Iskandar shot into the limelight when he reached the Malaysian Masters final in 2015 in Penang.

He suffered his biggest blow this year when he injured his back in February.

He was out of action for four months before returning for the Thailand Open in June.

“I’ll give myself some time to improve my game under coach Datuk Misbun Sidek.

“He has entered me for a few lower ranked tournaments.

“I hope to regain my confidence by doing well and improve on my world ranking,” he added.

Iskandar, who has dropped from 23rd to 51st, will take part in three back- to- back fourth- tier tournaments in Europe – Belgian International (Sept 13-16), Polish International ( Sept 21- 24) and Czech Open (Sept 27-30).