:Forest Folk

Badminton star Razif Latif is now preparing for his winning moves come August 10 to 16 for the World Championships to be held in Hyderabad, India. After being caught in the H1N1 hysteria in the airport, flying in from the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold held in Johor Bahu. The 24-year old athlete returns, this time to set off with his trusty badminton racquets on an undisturbed training routine in Bukit Kiara.

Razif is scheduled to play on a mixed doubles game with partner Woon Khe Wei. The duo is one of the four pairs that are qualified to play in the tournament’s heated doubles matches. Razif and Wei have started their training last January. While the duo has been popular and strong bet, their team has fuelled doubts as to making in it the world match. Razif expresses his hope to have a powerful win that will be the pair’s breakthrough game in the face of national and international badminton tournaments. Nonetheless, Razif admits to being overwhelmed by simply being able to qualify for the world meet.

This year’s World Championship serves as Razif’s debut to the world meet. In order to advance, Razif explains that he and Khe Wei should qualify for the quarter finals. He expresses his confidence that, to date, his and his partner’s preparation will be enough for them to place in that round.

Razif claims that one of the team’s advantages is their awareness of their strengths and weaknesses. The team admittedly fall short in coping with in-court agility during the actual game. They also fall into the tendency of losing their focus especially during a tight match. Razif blames these weaknesses to the team’s lack of confidence as most international teams possess. He explains that the team is definitely working on it, while being cautious as to not to lose their head with overconfidence.