National men’s singles shuttler Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin is one step closer to achieving his goal of triumphing in the National Grand Prix after conquering his first two matches in the group stages yesterday.
Iskandar took on Chen Tang Jie in his opening match and easily outplayed him in two straight sets 21-13 and 21-12. He then played his close rival R. Sathieshtharan in the second match and won over him 21-17 and 21-18 to book his slot in the semi finals.
Despite the fact that he already entered the semi finals, he will still have to face Group A’s Ai Wei Jian in order to complete his final match of the group stage.
“I want to focus on the last match first before thinking about the semi finals. Nonetheless, I am really happy today (yesterday) because I got to defeat Satheishtharan, whom I regarded as the toughest opponent in the group stage,” he told Harian Metro.
“The match in the evening was a bit more difficult compared to my first match in the morning. However, my strategies worked except for the second set because I had to change my rhythm due to the wind.”
Iskandar could spare the possibility of meeting Chong Yee Han in the semi finals tomorrow.
Meanwhile, rising star Goh Jin Wei also made her way to the semi finals of the women’s singles after claiming the first two matches of the group stage.
The 15 year-old successfully ousted Yang Li Lian 21-18, 24-22 and Lee Zii Yii 21-11, 21-15.
Other posts by Michelle Liew
