Rivalry between co-captains in Malaysian badminton team
While Datu Anif Isaac Datu Asrah and Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan will jointly lead Malaysia at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships (BAJC) in Surakarta, Indonesia — they also compete for the mixed doubles spot in the team event.
The BAJC begins with the mixed team event from July 18-22, followed by the individual competition from July 23-27.
Anif, 18, partners Dania Sofea Zaidi, while Noraqilah, also 18, partners Loh Ziheng.
Both pairs are Malaysia's top contenders for the individual mixed doubles
gold, and they are also vying for the only slot available in the team event.
"It's a good fight between us. We train under the same coach and have similar playing styles.
"It comes down to who performs better on the day," said Noraqilah.
The selection headache now falls on the coaches.
However, Ziheng-Noraqilah have recorded two victories over Anif-Dania this year - at the National Under-18 Championships in April and Malaysia Junior International Challenge two weeks ago.
Despite the rivalry, both captains are approaching their dual roles with maturity.
"As a team, we stand together, we fall together," said Anif today.
Noraqilah added: "Anif and I now have a bigger responsibility,"
Though the pairs train together daily and know each other's game inside out, both players insist that the internal competition only drives them to improve.
"Winning or losing against each other is secondary," said Noraqilah.
"The important thing is that we push ourselves."
Both have agreed to leave selection matters to the coaches. "We'll just follow the instructions. The coaches know best, so we must always be ready," said Anif.
Malaysia have been drawn in Group B for the mixed team event, alongside hosts Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar and Macau.
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