National badminton squad started brightly in the World University Games (Universiade) 2015 by defeating Finland 5-0 in the opening round match of Group F in Gwangju, Korea, yesterday.
The squad is seemingly facing Brazil in the final group match before an alleged meeting with Indonesia in the quarter-finals.
The first match saw mixed doubles Muhammad Syawal Ismail-Sanatasah Saniru winning 19-21, 21-10, 22-20 over Petro Hautala-Sanni Rautala, before the winning rhythm was continued by former junior champion, Zulfadli Zulkifli who picked up the second point with a straight sets win over Antonio Kaisti in the men’s singles.
The deciding point came through Lydia Cheah, who overpowered Sonja Pekkola 21-10, 21-5 in the women’s singles.
Malaysia continued the domination with wins in the men’s doubles through Jagdish Singh-Vountus Indra Mawan and women’s pair Erica Khoo-Ti Wei Chyi later on.
According to national coach, Zulkifli Sidek, the match was more towards the experimental side as he continues to look for compatibility among the players.
“I’m still focussing on the understanding between them, especially in doubles matches and so far, they have been playing well,” he said, as quoted in Utusan Online.
Photo credits: bharian.com
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