Zulfadli gets a green light from his father Zulkifli Sidek – Badminton news
Zulfadli gets a green light from his father Zulkifli Sidek to join the national training camp of Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
Junior World Champion Zulfadli Zulkifli plays for Kuala Lumpur Racket Club (KLRC) and BAM officials have talked KLRC about loaning their two shuttlers, Hafiz Hashim and Zulfadli for the Thomas Cup finals, set to be held in China this May.
Zulkifli Sidek was not in comfortable zone with BAM earlier but now he looked happy with the news of BAM considering his son’s name for the Thomas Cup finals squad if Zulfadli proves his worth in the joint training sessions with the seniors.
Zulkifli said, “I am not going to stand in my son's way. He can join the training sessions with the Thomas Cup players and it is up to BAM to decide whether he is good enough to be selected for the team event. My son can progress faster if he spars with
the national players and he will also get the opportunity to train with Lee Chong Wei.”
Zulfadli, who was honoured with Malaysian Athlete of the Year award last week, is also eager to join national training camp if KLRC releases him on BAM’s request.
He said, “I can join training if KLRC allows and if BAM wants me to train with the national players. I want to try and fight for a place in the Thomas Cup squad.”
The Malaysian shuttlers Daren Liew and Arif Abdul Latif are in danger to lose their position in national squad as the second ranked Malaysian player Hafiz Hashim, who currently is World Number 32, has been invited in the camp.
The BAM coaching and training committee (CTC) has not yet cleared Zulfadli for the joint training session and few of the members are against the proposal to invite him in the national camp.
The proposal was given by the High Performance Director James Selvaraj and secretary BAM Ng Chin Chai supported indirectly by admitting that young players should be nurtured for Malaysia’s badminton future.
The council will decide in a meeting tomorrow and if permission is granted to Zulfadli, it will make Zulfadli and his father Zulkifli Sidek realise the importance of training with the senior players like Lee Chong Wei.
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