Friday January 4, 2013
Arif is back from injury layoff and raring for action
PETALING JAYA: A bulky Mohd Arif Abdul Latif is raring for action after recovering from the back injury which forced him out of the National GP Finals last month.
The 23-year-old Arif has always relied on his speed, with his best result being a quarter-final appearance in the Hong Kong Open last November.
But his slight frame also meant he was prone to injuries, with the latest setback being the back injury suffered during the India Open GP Gold last month.
Now that he has fully recovered and all bulked up, Arif is to get going again when the six-day Malaysian Open begins on Jan 15.
“I did put on a bit of weight and hitting the gym at the National Sports Council (NSC) a lot more,” said Arif.
“My main weakness is my physical condition ... so, I’ve taken a few measures to shape up. Hopefully, that will also help improve my game.”
Arif, who is skipping the Korean Open from Jan 8-13, has set himself a target of breaking into the top 15 this year.
The world No. 33 will take on Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the first round of the Malaysian Open and an upset over the eighth seed will probably pit him against another Indonesian – the experienced Alamsyah Yunus.
If he gets past Alamsyah, fourth seed Sho Sasaki of Japan awaits in the quarter-finals.
“I’m quite confident of my chances against Sony. He’s a good player but too inconsistent of late,” said Arif.
“It’s 50-50, but if I start well, there’s no reason why I can’t beat him.
“I’m really looking forward to breaking into the top 15 of the world rankings this year and I’m targeting at least a quarter-final finish in my home tournament.”
Another reason why Arif’s keen on moving up the rankings is the chance to feature in the World Championships, which will be held in Guangzhou in August.
A country can send three players to the world meet provided all are in the top 24. Right now, Lee Chong Wei (world No. 1), Liew Daren (No. 16) and Chong Wei Feng (No. 21) are ahead of Arif.
That should be motivation enough for him.
- Razif: Indiscipline the cause of senior players’ poor performances
- Spirited Malaysian team vow to deliver against Germans
- Cool V Shem believes he will be too hot for rivals to handle
- Malaysia have their work cut out in the World League
- Plenty for Hafizh as 55 is significant in his early racing career
- Japan hope to reach their first semis in tourney
- Yi Ting on a mission
- Reigning champion thumps Xu Xin as Taiwan make history with first gold
- Grace hammers home a point with two golds
- KLHC to rule the roost if other teams don’t raise their game
- Grace hammers home a point with two golds
- Former Asian phenom takes slow route to success
- South Korean captures first US PGA title with a 69
- Spurs thump Grizzlies in series opener
- Uihlein rules at Madeira Open
- Malaysia have their work cut out in the World League
- Sharon believes KPT circuit is excellent for squash’s future
- Razif: Indiscipline the cause of senior players’ poor performances
- Reigning champion thumps Xu Xin as Taiwan make history with first gold
- Delia one step away from main draw after easy win
RSS
