Sponsorships don’t come easy for Iskandar

KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin (pic) is hoping to get his career as an independent shuttler off to a good start by doing well in the SS Purple League (SSPL) which kicks off on Friday.

The 27-year-old will be playing for Petaling Badminton Club again after an impressive performance last season. He won five of his seven matches to help Petaling BC finish fifth.

And this year’s SSPL campaign is more important than ever for Iskandar as he intends to justify his club’s faith in him, besides getting ready for the new season.

“I’m looking forward to the start of the SSPL season as I want to make the most of it to get ready for 2019,” said Iskandar.

“Petaling BC have been kind to me by giving me a venue to train, so the only way to repay them is to give a good showing and help the club to do well,” he said.

Iskandar, a former Asian Junior silver medallist, was one of the few senior players who quit the national team this month, although he had publicly announced his intention in early November.

He said life has been tough for him in the past one month as he was struggling to secure sponsors.

He registered for the Malaysian Masters from Jan 15-20 and the Indonesian Masters from Jan 22-27, but would only play in the latter.

“It’s a tough start, but that’s expected because of my ranking,” said the world No. 78.

“I really need to perform in whatever tournaments I could get in. For now, it’s the Indonesian Masters. I’m also trying hard to get sponsors through my agent. Once it’s done, then I can plan my schedule better and focus on improving my ranking.

“My target is still to qualify for the Olympics, and I will never give up on that,” he said.

The one-year qualifying period for the 2020 Toyko Olympics starts on May 1.

A nation can enter a maximum of two singles shuttlers if they can finish in the top 16 in the Olympic qualification rankings.