2015 Polish International Series champion Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddinn continues to impress as he progressed to the third round of Dutch Open Grand Prix Gold in Holland, yesterday, while compatriot Zulfadli Zulkiffli suffered an exit.
Iskandar Zulkarnain, who has been training in Europe for a month, dispatched Rhys Walker of England in straight sets 21-14, 21-11. He had earlier defeated 14th seed Anand Pawar of India in the first round.
The same, however, can’t be said for independent shuttler Zulfadli, who lost to Finland’s Ville Lang despite a stern fight, going down 22-20, 21-23, 21-15.
Lang will now face Iskandar in the next round.
In the men doubles, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Lee Jian Yi-Lim Zhen Ting will be opening their campaign later this evening.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
It is definitely encouraging to see players such as Iskandar doing well on an international stage, but this is expected from them. They should be the one stepping up in the absence of Lee Chong Wei and take their chances. Iskandar, in particular, has been showing positive signs since his win in Poland, and will look to carry forward his form here. However, the same can’t be said about Zulfadli though, as he continues to show inconsistency in his performances. Zulfadli impressed in the Jakarta World Championships but since then failed to live up to the hype. Another worrying factor is also his refusal to train under BAM, which will eventually take a toll on his preparations for Rio Olympics.
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