Reigning U-18 boys champ Anif wants to see more Sabahans join BAM

The Star

28-04-2025

Ready to work harder: Datu Anif Isaac (right) hopes to do better in the mixed doubles with Dania Sofea Zaidi.
PETALING JAYA: Doubles shuttler Datu Anif Isaac hopes to see more players from Sabah in the national team.
Currently, the 17-year-old Anif, who is from Kota Kinabalu, is the only shuttler from the state under the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) setup.
'I wish to see more players from Sabah work hard and join BAM too as currently I'm the only one,' said Anif.
'I hope to do well in BAM and inspire youngsters from my state to play badminton.'
Anif, who has formed a promising partnership with Dania Sofea Zaidi in the mixed doubles, joined BAM in January and was fast tracked into the senior team.
Anif-Dania are Malaysia's best bets for a medal in the Asian Junior Championships from July 18-27 in Solo, Indonesia, along with newly crowned Under-18 national champions Loh Ziheng-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan.
On Sunday, Anif-Dania finished runners-up to Ziheng-Noraqilah in the Under-18 tourney after losing a closely fought match at the Academy Badminton Perak in Ipoh.
There was joy though for Anif though when he captured the boys' doubles title with Damien Ling in the duo's maiden competition together.
While Anif was happy to win his first title with Damien, he hopes to do better in the mixed doubles with Dania.
'I feel very excited to win my first title with Damien. Moving forward, I hope I can win bigger titles with him,' said Anif.
'In the mixed doubles though, our opponents played better than us. It's normal to win and lose in sport and we will just try again next time.
'Missing out on the title only makes me want to work harder. We still have room for improvement.
'Although I'm disappointed to lose, I'm happy to see that Ziheng and Noraqilah have improved.'