Muhammad Hafiz Hashim is committed to deliver in Thomas Cup Qualifying Round, says coach Hendrawan
Malaysia’s Men’s Singles national coach, Hendrawan, said that Muhammad Hafiz Hashim is showing a greater level of commitment in training sessions and is determined to help his team by performing well at the Thomas Cup Qualifying Round, which will kick off from in Macau from February 13.
Hafiz, who has been ranked at number 33 in Men’s Singles world standings, left the national setup last year and now participates in all international events as an independent shuttler.
Due to Hafiz’s steady performance in different tournaments, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) selected him in the national squad for Thomas Cup.
The experienced shuttler is now working hard under the supervision of Hendrawan in the centralised training camp at Juara Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. He has been playing remarkable badminton for the last 15 years and has served the country to the maximum of his abilities.
Now, he is fully aware of the fact that in order to help his team qualify for the Thomas Cup Finals he needs to play at his best and win all of his matches.
Hendrawan is optimistic that the former All England Champion, Hafiz, will deliver according to the expectations in the qualifying-round matches.
The coach also said that the shuttler is the best choice for Malaysia in the second Men’s Singles contest in qualifying round.
The coach said, “I have taken Hafiz under my wing for the past two weeks and he has shown great commitment to the cause. I haven’t been pushing him too hard because it is only two weeks since he rejoined us, but he has been doing well in keeping pace with the training.”
He further added, “Basically, he knows how important it is to qualify for the Thomas Cup Finals and he knows how crucial his role as the second singles is. Hafiz has shown a great deal more desire and fire in training. It’s as though he’s out to prove a point.”
Malaysia will play against Hong Kong and South Korea in group matches. The Malaysian shuttlers need to win both matches in order to have a comparatively easy quarter-final clash.
Only top four teams in the qualifying round will make the cut for the Thomas Cup Finals, which will be held in May, in China.
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