The level of performance of national singles player Iskandar Zulkarnain has skyrocketed since December, but 2003 All England champion Hafiz Hashim wants the 25 year-old to prove to himself and the world of his capabilities by winning a Grand Prix (GP) or a GP Gold.
According to the former World No. 5, the Johor-born player has been playing great badminton for quite some time, which ultimately improved his Badminton World Federation (BWF) world ranking and only one thing remains — winning a championship.
“We do not want him to win, only to lose in the final. We want him to end up as a champion. If he manages to win a championship, we can assess his level, at least in the GP or GP Gold.
“He has an aggressive playing style and he always works hard. My advice to Iskandar is that he should adopt a disciplinary approach because he is the second best singles player in the country, after Datuk Lee Chong Wei,” Hafiz Hashim said as quoted by Harian Metro.
He also said that Iskandar must focus in challenging himself to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil. However, if he fails to qualify, he must at least try to get a slot at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan because Lee Chong Wei would have retired by then.
“Iskandar has to close the gap with Chong Wei because then no one will dispute his selection in major championships such as the Thomas Cup, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
“He needs to focus on his next championship. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) would have already signed him up for a number of tournaments. If it is possible, he needs to win at least four or five GP or GP Gold competitions this year,” he added.
Iskandar Zulkarnain lost his first GP Gold tournament in January after losing out to Datuk Lee Chong Wei 18-21, 11-21 in the final of the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold.
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