Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) technical director Morten Frost Hansen’s decision to send severak Malaysian players to gain experience in Europe has paid dividends, as proved by shuttler Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin.
The second seeded Malaysian faced no trouble in beating Denmark’s Anders Antonsen 21-12 21-18 in Bierun to claim the Polish Open, later admitting that the exposure has been key to his positive form.
He also added that he felt really confident after Frost contacted him to offer a few words of encouragement.
“I was always motivating myself during the match, trying to chase every point that I lost. Antonsen was on a high after winning the Belgium Open prior to this tournament, so I had to be very careful with my movements and shots,” Iskandar told Arena Metro.
The 24 year-old has now been in Europe for two weeks with a foster family, in order to improve his performance level.
“It has been hard in the beginning, but I have gotten used to it, whether it’s the food or the weather. Training sessions have been carried out in a normal way as well.”
“For now, my aim is to improve my world rankings, and then we shall see about qualifying for Rio Olympics next year,” he added.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
It is yet to be proven that Iskandar Zulkarnain is the finished product. Inconsistency continues to be a niggling factor for Malaysian shuttlers (including Chong Wei at times), so Europe is probably a good place for Iskandar to escape his comfort zone and nurture consistency. Players like Chong Wei Feng and Zulfadli Zulkifli would also benefit from such a stint, to be fair. And at the age of 24, Iskandar has a bright future ahead of him, if he continues to go on the right track.
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