Latest news with #Anif
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."
The Star
24-04-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Hoon on lookout for replacements after world junior champs Aaron-Kang join senior rank
Impressive feat: Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing captured the boys' doubles title in the World Junior Championships last year. IPOH: The battle to be the next Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing starts now. Shuttlers Aaron-Khai Xing, who captured the boys' doubles title in the World Junior Championships last year, have moved up to the senior team, leaving a void behind in the junior set-up. Junior doubles coach Hoon Thien How admitted that it will be no easy task to replace Aaron and Khai Xing. 'Aaron and Khai Xing joined BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) when they were 13 while the current batch of players only came in last year and are mostly around 17. 'So, while Aaron-Khai Xing had time to master the basics here, we need to change many aspects of the game in the players currently we have as they are coming into the team much later from the states. 'We have also decided to shake up the partnerships and try out new combinations after unsatisfactory results in a few tournaments. 'We felt there was a gap between our pairs and those from China, South Korea and Japan and we need to make changes before the Asian Junior Championships in July,' added Thien How. Among the new pairs that Thien How is trying out are Datu Anif Isaac-Damien Ling, Isyraf Hafizin-Ungku Mohamed Ungku Ameer and Mohd Shazmir Irfan-Pang Khai Zhe. Anif will be taking on double duty as he will also continue playing in the mixed doubles with Dania Sofea Zaidi. The 17-year-old has proved his potential with Dania and the duo finished runners-up in the Dutch Junior International in March. Thien How feels Anif has what it takes to excel in the boys' doubles too and hopes Damien, who is also 17 and joined BAM last year, will be the right partner for him. 'I saw Anif play in the Dutch Juniors and felt he has the quality to play in boys' doubles too,' said Thien How. 'It's not easy though to get the right partner for him. Damien is capable of playing at the front court while Anif is more adept at the back. 'Both have looked good together in training, so we want to try them out in tournaments and see.' Anif-Damien are the top seeds in the Under-18 National Championships and will be out to justify the faith shown by Thien How in them. Isyraf-Ungku Mohamed Ungku Ameer and Mohd Shazmir Irfan-Khai Zhe are also playing in the tourney and all three pairs will be vying for the title along with others as BAM's search for the next Aaron-Khai Xing begins.
