While Chen Long has gone on to win Super Series titles and is currently ranked fourth in the world, the Malaysian is still struggling to get far in a Grand Prix Gold tournament.
But the world No. 98 hopes that his fortune will change, starting with the Thailand GP Gold, which will be held in Bangkok from June 7-12.
No there yet: Mohd Arif Abdul Latif is stil strugling to get far in a Grand Prix Gold tournament. “I have been left behind since then, mostly because of my own mistakes. However, I have made a lot of improvement since coming under the charge of Hendrawan. I am physically stronger and I am able to show better strategy in my game.”
Arif is currently the top ranked shuttler in the national back-up squad.
In fact, over the last one year, he has beaten four elite shuttlers – Tan Chun Seang, Chong Wei Feng, Liew Daren and Chan Kwong Beng – in local tournaments.
“Chen Long will be at the Thailand GP Gold as the top seed. It will be great if I can achieve a good result there. Ultimately, I hope to win at least one GP Gold title by end of the year,” he said.
Arif is in the same quarter as Chen Long together with three other Malaysians – Daren, Goh Soon Huat and Wei Feng.
He has a tricky first-round match against England’s Rajiv Ouseph, who has shown the ability to make life difficult for top players on his good day.
China have a relatively strong line-up for the men’s singles. Also in the fray are world champion Chen Jin, Wang Zhengming, Lu Yi and Wen Kai.
Indonesia and Japan have listed all their back-up shuttlers. South Korea will be banking on Park Sung-hwan, Lee Hyun-il and Shon Wan-ho while Thailand have second seed Boonsak Ponsana as their top contender for the title.
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