Aidil gets a surprise nod to play in world junior meet

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Games (Sukma) boys’ singles silver medallist Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin has been selected to represent Malaysia in the World Junior Championships in Markham, Canada, from Oct 5-18.

The 18-year-old made heads turn at the Games on Monday with a shocking upset over top seed and Asian junior champion Leong Jun Hao in the quarter-finals before beating former international Yeoh Seng Zoe in the semi-finals.

Aidil’s gallant run was halted in the final at the hands of Tan Jia Wei.

Aidil trains under Rashid Sidek at the Sports Affairs Academy and spars with former internationals Liew Daren, Chong Wei Feng and Lee Hyun-il of South Korea.

Yesterday, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) endorsed the selection of Aidil as the only non-BAM player in the 10-member

world junior squad.

The mixed team event is from Oct 5-10 and followed by the individual competition from Oct 12-18.

“We based our selection on merit and Aidil will represent Malaysia at the world junior meet although he is not a BAM player,” said BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria after a special council meeting at Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.

Aidil was invited to join the national back-up selection trial last year but he turned it down.

On the pre-mature exit of Jun Hao in the Sukma, Norza said he had asked the men’s singles head coach Datuk Misbun Sidek to beef up the training programme. Jun Hao also lost to Seng Zoe in the Sukma team competition.

“Misbun told me that Jun Hao could not perform because he was under tremendous pressure. If a player cannot handle the pressure in Sukma, how can they cope in international tournaments? I’ve asked Misbun to look into it,” said Norza.

“I understand that the youngsters are feeling the heat in the absence of Lee Chong Wei. Everyone is hoping to find the next Chong Wei, so we’ll do what’s necessary to prepare these young players. I just hope the fans will be patient.

“Misbun has been with us for a year and I’ve told him that it was time to produce results,” he added.