Zulfadli Zulkifli trounces Joshi Pratul in quarter-final of Badminton Asia Youth U-19 Championships
Malaysia’s top junior player, Zulfadli Zulkifli occupied his semi-final berth after trouncing India’s Joshi Pratul in the Boy’s Singles quarter-final of the Badminton Asia Youth U-19 Championships, held in India, on Thursday, July 7.
The Malaysian delivered a superb performance yesterday as he won two matches including a round-of-16 encounter against China’s Xue Song and a quarter-final clash against Joshi. Zulfadli proved that he is one of the best shuttlers contending for the Boy’s Singles title at the Asian Junior Championship.
Zulfadli is getting better with every match as he is playing with great confidence and ease. His remarkable run in the championship indicates his determination to win the title in India.
In his quarter-final match against Joshi, the Malaysian faced no significant resistance from the local shuttler, who was having the support of a huge crowd at the indoor arena in Lucknow. Zulfadli took only 31 minutes in the court to end the match in straight games.
How Kim Tho, who is the athletes’ development coordinator of the Badminton Association of Malaysia, said that Zulfadli’s is the favourite for the semi-final match where he will play against Japan’s Momota Kento, who defeated defending champion, Huang Yuxiang of China in the third round.
Kim Tho said, “Momota has done Zulfadli a huge favour by taking out Yuxiang ... the cards are certainly in Zulfadli’s favour,” said BAM junior athletes development coordinator How Kim Tho. But he should know better than to underestimate Momota, who is very talented and has been playing well here so far.”
In the quarter-final battle, Zulfadli played up to the expectations of the Malaysian squad as he tamed the Indian in an impressive manner. In the opening set of the match, Joshi put up good resistance in the start, but failed to maintain the speed in the second-half of the set. Zulfadli dominated the game and finished it with a 21-15 margin.
The Malaysian was dominant throughout the second game, as Joshi failed to resist against his firing challenger. Zulfadli clinched the second set by a dramatic margin of 21-9. The match ended in just 31 minutes with a margin of 21-15 and 21-9.
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