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Zakry in high spirits after recovering from knee injury

By RAJES PAUL

KUALA LUMPUR: The smile was back on Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif’s face after two days of training at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara on Wednesday.

The pain in his knee has eased and Zakry’s confidence is high again.

He is determined to do well with his partner Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari in their first international tournament this year at the All-England, which will be held in Birmingham from March 3-8.

Zakry was floored with a knee injury after the Super Series Masters Finals in Kota Kinabalu last December.

He was forced to skip the first two Super Series events — the Malaysian and South Korean Opens this month.

That resulted in Zakry-Fairuizizuan dropping one rung to fifth spot behind compatriots Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong in the world rankings.

Zakry said he was demoralised after sustaining the knee injury for the first time in his career.

“I had to use a walking stick after picking up the injury. At that time, I thought my hopes of featuring in the All-England were as good as over,” said Zakry.

“Fortunately, I have recovered quicker than expected after going through the rehabilitation programme.

“I was able to follow the training session over the last two days. On the first day, there was a throbbing pain after training. But now, I feel like I am back to normal.”

Zakry said he would give full attention over the next one month to get back to top form.

“I am glad that my partner (Fairuzizuan) was understanding. We could not play in any tournaments this year because of my injury. He has been supportive and that has helped me a lot,” said Zakry.

“Everyone wants to win the All-England title and Fairuzizuan and I have the same goal too. It will not be easy but we are bent on achieving it.

“Other pairs, like Markis (Kido)-Hendra (Setiawan) of Indonesia, have yet to win the All-England title too and they will be one of our main threats this time.”

Besides Zakry-Fairuzizuan, Malaysia’s doubles challenge will also be shouldered by Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who did Malaysia proud by winning the prestigious crown in 2007.

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