Latest news with #Anif
The Star
15-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Anif honoured to lead Malaysia at Asian Juniors
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian junior shuttler Datu Anif Isaac is excited to be named the captain of the Malaysian team for the Asian Junior Championships taking place in Solo, Indonesia, from July 23-27. The 18-year old described being given the skipper's role as an honour but he is also aware that it comes with heavier responsibilities and challenges. ''It was unexpected for me to be picked as the captain but since I have been given this responsibility, I'm ready to face the challenges. 'I'm ready to shoulder the responsibility and lead the team,'' said Anif. ''The challenge for the team is to perform to our best abilities in the competition as we have been preparing for a year in both the team and individual events.' Anif also said that he received a lot of advice from his seniors when he was selected for the role. ''I have learnt a lot from my seniors and they've told me to do my best in big tournaments. They also advised me to enjoy myself and have fun while playing.' Anif, who finished runner-up at the Petronas Malaysia Junior International Challenge in Perlis recently, stated that his target is to reach the final and try to win a gold medal. He will play in the boy's doubles with Damien Ling, and the mixed doubles with Dania Sofea Zaidi. In the mixed team competition, Malaysia are in Group B along with Indonesia, Singapore, Macau and Myanmar. The top two teams will advance to the quarter-finals. In last year's edition, Malaysia won silver in the boys' doubles through Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing while Siti Zulaikha Azmi (girls' singles), Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting (girls' doubles) and the mixed team contributed bronze medals.
New Straits Times
15-07-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Rivalry between co-captains in Malaysian badminton team
KUALA LUMPUR: They are co-captains, and they are rivals. 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.
Daily Express
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Express
Anif clinches national U18 doubles title
Published on: Tuesday, April 29, 2025 Published on: Tue, Apr 29, 2025 By: GL Oh Text Size: Anif (back) and Damien. Kota Kinabalu: Sabahan Datu Anif Datu Asrah captured the men's doubles title at the just concluded Petronas National Under-18 Badminton Championship 2025 held at the Akademi Badminton Perak in Ipoh over the weekend. The 17-year-old BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) based player partnered Damien Ling Tang Le and lived up to their top seeds status to defeat third/fourth seed Zi Hin Heng and Ethan Oh Jun Hui 15-6, 15-12 in the final. However, he was unable to repeat the success in the mixed doubles as the top seeds when he and Dania Sofea from Johor had to settle for silver after losing to second seeded pair Lo Ziheng and N. Maisarah Ramdan 16-14, 10-15, 14-16 in a nail-biting final. Another Sabahan Muhammad Nur Azhar Zunaide also did well in the men's doubles to take home the bronze medal with Siau Yu Hang from Johor as his partner. The pair were forced to concede a walkover to Ethan and Zi in the semi-final due to Siau's injury sustained during the quarterfinal three-set 4-15, 15-13.17-15 win over BAM pair Isyraf Hafizin Ibrahim and Ungku Mohamed Ungku Ameer Alif. Sabah Badminton Association (SBA) president, Datuk Dr. Maijol Mahap in a statement on Monday said he is very proud of their achievement. 'Anif has already displayed his potential at the Asian Youth Championships in Indonesia last year. 'His success this time further proved that his partnership with Damien Ling and Dania Sofea are on the right track to achieve more success in the future. 'The success of Anif and Nur Azhar proved that our players not only have the talent and agility on the court, but also possess fighting spirit. 'In addition we also have other junior players such as Shim Hymn Isiah, Saidatul Saadiah, Lim Xe Xuan and Jing Xuan Chua who showed great potential in the tournament,' he said. He added that Sabah also brought home four bronze medals in the 1st Leg of the Junior Elite Tour (JET) Badminton Championship held in Melaka in February, as well as one silver medal and two bronze medals in the 2nd Leg held in Selangor earlier this month. 'With the positive outing, SBA is currently actively implementing badminton development programmes with special focus on players who excelled in JET 1, JET 2 and the U18 championship. 'Some of them will be absorbed into the Sabah Badminton Academy which is being established, while others will continue training at the Malaysia Badminton Academy and the Bukit Jalil Sports School. 'This is part of a larger project from SBA to restore the glory of Sabah badminton on the national stage,' he said. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
28-04-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Reigning U-18 boys champ Anif wants to see more Sabahans join BAM
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.'
The Star
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Shuttlers Damien and Datu hope to hit it off in their first partnership
Shuttlers Datu Anif Isaac (front) and Damien Ling making their presence felt in Ipoh. - Ronnie Chin/The Star IPOH: Doubles shuttler Damien Ling hopes to find the right rhythm with new partner Datu Anif Isaac in a bid to emerge as the boys' Under-18 champions in their first tournament together in Ipoh. Both 17, are the top seeds in the under-age national meet and are through to the fourth round after beating Sarawak's Brendon Jong-Roderick Wong 15-7, 15-2 at the Academy Badminton Perak yesterday. Anif and Damien will face Perak's Aison Diong-Ong Chin Hang next in the fifth round. Damien, who is from Putrajaya, is pleased with the positive start with Anif but believes they still have room for improvement. This is the first time that Anif is playing in the boys' doubles as he had been focusing in the mixed doubles with Dania Sofea Zaidi. "Anif and I only started training together two weeks ago when our coach (Hoon Thien How) told us that we will be paired together," said Damien, who played with Pang Khai Zhe before. "I'm excited to play with Anif as he is strong at the back court due to playing in mixed doubles as well. "So far everything is going well for us but we still have much to improve. "We are hoping to give our partnership a boost by winning the title in our first tournament together." Damien grew up idolizing Indonesian great Kenvin Sanjaya and hopes to mimic the latter's entertaining style of play. Kevin formed a hugely successful partnership with Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and the duo were fondly called the minions due to their speed and outrageous skills. Kevin was known for his brilliant front court play and the 17-year-old Damien wants to follow in the former's footsteps. "When I was younger, I loved watching Kevin Sanjaya. His playing style is very interesting," said Damien. "He is so fast and skillful at the front court and he is also mentally strong. hope to emulate him one day." Meanwhile, Anif, who has been doing well in the mixed doubles with Dania is looking forward to playing in two events. The Sabahan finished runners-up with Dania in the Dutch Junior International in March. "Playing in only one event can get a bit boring after a while, so it's interesting to play in the men's doubles too," said Anif. "Playing with Dania and Damien is different as they both have different strengths. "Damien is faster at the front court than me and I will need some time to get used to playing with him."
