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'I want to play for Malaysia'

Zulfadli reiterates desire to don national colours

 
zulfadli
CHERAS: Not many knew who Zulfadli Zulkifli (pic) was a year ago but all that changed when he won the Asian Junior Championship in April followed by the World Junior Championship in November.

He then became an instant celebrity, with many parties wanting a piece of him. Some even said he could be the next world No 1, but he remains unperturbed by such attention.

"Oh yes, everyone wanted to be friends. People who never used to talk to me before wanted to hang out with me. It’s a little odd but I don’t care," said Zulfadli. "My focus is on badminton and nothing else. I have my own plans and I plan to achieve them."

Zulfadli has options. The Los Angeles-born lad can play for the United States. He can even feature for Indonesia, the birth country of his mother Hanny Pranatyo.

In fact, Zulfadli was approached by the USBA to become a part of their Thomas Cup squad. Ironically, the BA of Malaysia left Zulfadli’s name out of their Thomas Cup list as announced during the Malaysia Open.

"I want to play for Malaysia. That is my ambition for now. I have not thought about other options yet," Zulfadli stressed.

"But my name was not listed. It would have been the perfect birthday gift," said Zulfadli, who turns 19 on Feb 11.

Zulfadli spent his first four years in LA before moving to Johor Baru, where he was introduced to the sport.

"My dad (Zulkifli Sidek) used to head to the courts a lot and one day, he decided to take me. I remember my first racquet clearly. It was a pink Carlton."

There has been no turning back since.

Zulfadli went on to win local tournaments before slowly making his mark on the international scene. Last year, he inked his name in the history books as the first Malaysian to bag the Asian Junior, World Junior and Youth Commonwealth Games titles.

"Initially, I just wanted to have fun. But after I started winning, I realised I had to aim higher to further improve and yes, I started having ambitions of being a champion."

Zulfadli, a Manchester United fan, described his relationship with his father-cum-coach as interesting.

"We have made it very clear he is a father at home and a coach on the courts. I used to ask him to cut me some slack but as I progressed, I saw the need to push myself and respected his decisions although they can be painful at times."

Zulfadli still heads over to the KLBA Stadium in Cheras and spars with some of the junior shuttlers there. He blends in with the other players and shows no arrogance on and off the courts.

His younger brothers, Zulfaiz (age 17) and Zulhelmi (16), still train at KLBA.

Where does Zulfadli see himself in five years? "Playing alongside some of the big names in the world!" he exclaimed.
 
 Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 11:26
by Haresh Deol - MALAY MAIL 

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