ZULFAD DLI AND KIAN MENGEMERG PEI JINGGE TRIUMPHANT
Zulfadli believes things are going to get better after clinching title
KUALA Independent shuttler Zulfadli Zulkiffli believes that more good things are coming his way.
Yesterday, top seed Zulfadli won his second career title after beating Siril Verma of India 16-21, 21-19, 21-10 in a 63-minute men’s singles final at the Russian Open Grand Prix in Vladivostok.
Just a month ago, the 23-year-old won the Brazil Grand Prix for his first senior title in five years.
“I always get tensed up during a final and it was no different today. I made many unforced errors because of my nervousness,” said Zulfadli.
“But I soon settled down after taking a 17-14 lead in the second game. Everything fell into place and I played with better control after that.
“It feels good to win again so soon. I am looking forward to more exciting times ahead,” said Zulfadli, a 2011 world and Asian junior champion.
He added: “I paid a lot of attention on my physical training and worked on my speed over the years. It’s bearing fruit and it’s showing in my game now. I’m more resilient than before on court.”
When asked whether he was only focusing on the lower-ranked Grand Prix tournaments, Zulfadli said: “I am mixing up my tournaments now. Like everyone else, I am playing in the Grand Prix tournaments. But I have played in the Superseries, too. I just want to build on my confidence and world ranking.”
The world No. 39 will next compete in the back-to-back Superseries tournaments in Denmark Open (Oct 18-23) and French Open (Oct 25-30).
One thing is for sure. Zulfadli is certainly doing better than all the second stringers and juniors in the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) set-up.
Except for world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, none of the other BAM shuttlers – Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin, Soo Teck Zhi, Soong Joo Ven, Cheam June Wei and R. Satheishtharan – have won any Grand Prix title this season.