FORMER national chief coach Razif Sidek will make a comeback to the international scene but this time to help Zakry Latif-Fairuzizuan Tazari achieve their target of qualifying for next year’s London Olympics.
Razif, who quit as chief coach after guiding Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock to a silver medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, said Zakry and Fairuz are still good and with hard work, can be a formidable combination for at least another two years.
Razif added that both players have made a request for him to train them and will star t his duties after the Hari Raya holidays. Zakry-Fairuz quit the national team last month to concentrate on their careers as an independent pair.
“Zakry and Fairuz are still good. Their objective is to qualify for the Olympics but they have to start from scratch and since qualification has become a stringent process, I am willing to help them,” said Razif.
“They have been a top 10 pair before and I feel they didn’t gain much after being made to split and partner other players. They probably felt they can do better by resuming their partnership."
“It is going to be a tough battle for them to get their international career back on track but I will assist them in every possible way.”
“If Zakry-Fairuz show quick progress, it would provide healthy competition with BAM’s own Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and its back-up combination (Goh Wei Shem- Lim Khim Wah). This will spur everybody to work harder to make it to the Olympics.” There has been speculation that KLRC Berhad may employ Razif to train Zakry-Fairuz and if this is true, another professional pair Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen may also join them.
Meanwhile, the national team’s progress is not going smoothly as Kien Keat and Boon Heong failed to show up for training at Juara Stadium yesterday but national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky is not bothered anymore.
“It is up to them if they want to keep missing training. I will continue with my daily duties and let the BAM management settle the issue. The Taiwan Open begins next week and the other players have to continue with their training,” said Rexy.
“There is nothing I can do to solve this problem. Let the coaching and training committee decide next Thursday.” Kien Keat-Boon Heong have not been entered for the Taiwan Open but they will be competing in the China Masters on Sept 13- 18 and the Japan Open on Sept 20-25.
Courtesy of New Straits Times
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