AS the son of Datuk Razif Sidek, expectations have always been high on men’s doubles shuttler Fazriq Razif.
After all, Razif and his brother Jalani Sidek were a legendary pair that won Malaysia first ever Olympics medal, bronze in the 1992 Games where badminton was making its debut.
The pair also played in important role in Malaysia’s last Thomas Cup Finals victory in Kuala Lumpur the same year.
Fazriq is proud of his father’s achievements and is motivated to follow in his footsteps but wants to be his own man.
“My father’s achievements motivate me and I want to be like him in the future,” said Fazriq.
“I do feel a bit of pressure because there are high expectations on me but I try not to think too much about this.
“I just want to make a name for myself,” said the the 20-year-old who was combined with Bryan Goonting, 19, in the beginning of this year after previously partnering Choi Jian Sheng and Justin Hoh with mixed results.
Fazriq and Bryan have shown promise by finishing runners-up in their first tournament together in the Sri Lanka International Challenge in February and made it into the semi-finals of the Slovenian Open in May.
Yesterday, the pair stormed into the semi-finals of the Malaysia Games (Sukma) by ousting Penang’s Chew Jun Wei-Tan Zhi Yang 21-15, 21-10 in Sibu.
Bryan, who idolises former national Tan Boon Heong, hopes to emulate the latter’s all-rounded game.
“Boon Heong was an all-rounded player. He was good in everything,” said Bryan.
“I love to watch his attacking skills and I hope to improve my game and be like him one day.”
Fazriq-Bryan are currently ranked No. 142 in the world and hope to break into the top 80 as soon as possible.
“We’re aiming to break into the top 80.
“We want to play in higher tier tournaments like World Tour Super 300 and 500,” said Fazriq.
