Lin Dan lost to Bao Chun Lai in WJC final. That same tournament had Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Lee Chong Wei in the semifinals. Jeremy Gan used to be WJ champion in doubles..now coaching.
PLEASE DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY'RE HATCHED? I'm gonna count anyway, cause they're my chickens/eggs etc... lol..If I miscount, then I only have myself to blame.. Or is that not allowed at all?
Andrew Kam: Zulfadli should be considered for exposure to priority tournaments . Just found this article; By AJITPAL SINGH 07 December 2011 ZULFADLI Zulkifli's success on the international junior circuit just proved that local badminton clubs can produce champions on their own. The 18-year-old, sponsored by Kuala Lumpur Racquet Club (KLRC), dominated junior badminton this year by winning the boys' singles title at the Asian Youth Championships before repeating the feat at the Commonwealth Youth event. His biggest triumph, however, was his recent victory over Denmark's Victor Axelsen to become the first Malaysian world junior champion in the boys' singles in Taiwan. KLRC chief Datuk Seri Andrew Kam said Zulfadli's progress and subsequent victories have shattered the myth that it's only BA of Malaysia which can produce quality players. "We are a club that have shown we can produce champions. We want to help and guide Zulfadli to become a World and Olympic champion," Andrew said at his office in Kuala Lumpur recently. "Zulfadli is an intelligent shuttler ... a natural like Taufik (Hidayat). He is unpredictable on court and a good finisher. Zulfadli wants to make an impact on the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and we want to help him do it. "We are a great badminton nation but somehow we have failed to win World and Olympic titles. England, Denmark and even the United States have produced champions but we are still awaiting our first title in both tournaments. "Zulfadli, I believe, is our next hope after Lee Chong Wei but I do hope more quality players will come through in the near future." Andrew said the national team need a big pool of quality players to meet the challenges of the modern game. "We used to have several top players in the era of Wong Choong Hann. However, things have changed since then with Chong Wei being the only local capable of winning titles," he said. Andrew noted that Zulfadli should be considered for exposure to priority tournaments. Read more: Proud KLRC - New Straits Times located at; http://www.nst.com.my/sports/badminton/proud-klrc-1.16092#ixzz1fx5U6kAw .
. Zulkiffli Wants BAM To Consider His Son Zulfadli For Thomas Cup Duty (in 2012, May 20-27). Have a read; http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=632887 .
Loh, I totally agree with you. Winning the AJC and WJC is nothing if the winner doesn't make it big on the senior stage. Zulfadli hasn't beaten any high-ranking players while Viktor did. You might even say that Zul might not be better than Viktor in many aspects on the game, just more intelligent. He still has a long way to go and it's annoying that people have already seemed to make him sound like a champion in a matter of time.
Yes, even 16 years old viktor axelsen was included in Danish thomas cup squad last year. But then, in BAM its different Mainly because ZZ is not in Bam set up and he's an independent player.. Politics, havoc, here and there...
Sigh i dont understand why do BAM have to be so political about these things.. where is the UNTUK BANGSA DAN NEGARA?
Just look at the committee setup and you will know. Many of them are not actually linked with badminton in their life. Not sure why they are having the post. Anyway, i shall stop it. Sorry Ot
aiya rashid sidek thought he have many great ms in hand(lcw,lcw,lcw,lcw,lcw and lcw lol) so no need to rush he can goyang kaki until lcw retired,by then he had earn enough and can resign from bam wow what a great business plan!hehe
Zulfadli Zulkifli has been offered to play for the United States in the Thomas Cup . Zulfadli Zulkifli has been offered to play for the United States in the Thomas Cup. An article by HARESH DEOL Monday, December 12th, 2011 Source: http://www.mmail.com.my/content/87227-malaysia-my-country-says-zulfadli ====== * ====== start article ====== * ====== KUALA LUMPUR: World and Asian junior champion Zulfadli Zulkifli has been offered to play for the United States in the Thomas Cup. Internal bickering and the failure to acknowledge Zulfadli's efforts could prompt the youngster to don Uncle Sam’s colours. Zulfadli is yet to receive his incentives estimated at RM50,000 since last year. However, the Los Angeles-born lad does not want to turn his back on Malaysia — not at the moment, anyway. Zulfadli’s dad Zulkifli Sidek, who is also his coach, confirmed his son was approached by the US Badminton Association and a US player. They want to strengthen the US team for the Thomas Cup. It is pertinent to point out Zulkifli used to train the US team from 1990-94. "My son said no. He wants to play for Malaysia and I guess he pretty much made up his mind,” said Zulkifli. “I also want Zulfadli to play for Malaysia and I’m happy he made that choice. "But I hope to see Zulfadli in the Malaysian team for next year's Thomas Cup, even as a reserve.” BAM have yet to name the squad for the Thomas Cup in May 20-27 in Wuhan, China. Former junior player Arif Latiff was part of the Thomas Cup team in 2008. Zulfadli was apparently approached by an official during last year’s Thomas and Uber Cups held in KL. The USA team played in the Uber Cup. American player Howard Bach followed up later to ask Zulfadli to consider playing for US as they “lacked singles players”. Zulfadli, who plays under the KLRC banner, is yet to receive his incentives since winning honours for the country last year. Zulfadli was the placed third in the 2010 Asia Junior championships and the national team were runnersup in the same competition. This year, he won the World and Asian junior championships and the Commonwealth Youth Games. Zulkifli insisted his son was not demanding the incentives but found it strange how quickly Sea Games medal-winners were rewarded in a pomp affair. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak graced that ceremony at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara on Friday. Zulfadli is preparing for the India Open GP Gold (Dec 20-25) before heading to the US for a training cum holiday stint. ====== * ====== end article ====== * ====== .
eh....hello.. isnt being bit more intelligent than the other guy... the holy grail of all sports? isnt that the whole point?
Zulkifli Sidek, IMHO, is being a little bit too vocal about ZZ's right to be given a spot in Thomas Cup, questioning ZZ's right to receive incentive like the athletes that participated in SEA games, sparring with LCW... This is either going to encourage ZZ more or putting more pressure on him. I say Zulkifli Sidek counting his chickens more than us before they're hatched, albeit he has the right to do. However, the whole thing makes it more interesting to see how ZZ will progress in the future.
. IMHO, Zulkifli Sidek is not putting more pressure on ZZ, but on BAM. Zulkifli Sidek is Malaysian and is ZZ's father, coach and manager. He has the right to tell Malaysia (or BAM) not to treat ZZ differently just because ZZ is born in the USA and wish not to be under BAM's umbrella. Perhaps BCers in the USA (or even I, in Australia) see things differently from the BAM people. In the USA and Australia, good players are welcomed to play our national teams. In Malaysia, BAM seems to insist that players must be a BAM member/participant before getting to play for Malaysia. Here, I find BAM is more about politics and less about our Badminton. .
That being said, ZZ and his dad have to do more than winning AJC and WJC to wow BAM, which is not a bad thing coz those higher ups in BAM need to be teach some long overdue lessons. In the mean time, I really hope ZZ will stay to play (permanently) for MAS since I don't really see any of BAM's MS players closing the gap between them and LCW anytime soon (or is there? Let me know ok ppl ).
I wonder whether ZZ will be considered a "foreign talent" if he were to play for the USA although he was born there? Or will he be a "foreign talent" to MAS if BAM finally selects him to play for MAS?
So does he qualify as a "foreign talent" if he plays for MAS, since ZZ was not born there. It seems to me that some think that a local must be born and bred in the same country.
