KUALA LUMPUR – National badminton women’s singles player Siti Nurshuhaini Azman hopes her success in defending the National Under-21 (U-21) Championship title in Kuantan, last week, will impress coaches and secure her a place in the squad for the 2024 Uber Cup in Chengdu, China.
Siti Nurshuhaini admits that competing in the 2024 Uber Cup is her main focus this year, after making her debut at the 2020 edition in Aarhus, Denmark.
“I think winning the U-21 tournament for the second year in a row is a good start to the year.
“The tournament in Kuantan last week was one of the crucial tournaments for me, to prove myself to the coaching staff (to include her in the squad for the 2024 Uber Cup),” she told Bernama recently.
The 19-year-old player, who represents the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), retained her U-21 title by defeating Loh Zhi Wei of Selangor 21-12, 21-17.
The 2024 Uber Cup is scheduled to take place from April 28 to May 5.
At the Uber Cup 2020, Siti Nurshuhaini, from Rawang, played once with the national team and lost 0-5 to China in Group D.
Siti Nurshuhaini, who competed as the second singles player, was clearly no match for He Bing Jiao, and lost 8-21, 3-21.
She is also hoping to take part in the Vietnam International Challenge 2024, from March 12 to 17, in Hanoi.
Currently ranked 255th in the world, she aspires to be among the 150 best players in the world by the end of this year. – March 2, 2024