Para badminton star hopes for home ground push to clinch gold

KUALA LUMPUR: National para badminton player Mohamad Huzairi Abd Malik is hopeful the home ground advantage will help him to bag a gold medal when he appears in his fourth Asean Para Games (APG) in Kuala Lumpur.
Mohamad Huzairi said playing before local fans and their cheers would definitely spur him to play well in his pursuit of the elusive gold medal in the last three editions.
Mohamad Huzairi, 27, had come out empty handed in the biennial meets in 2009 and 2011 and in Singapore two years ago, he managed to win a bronze medal in the singles event.
"Playing before the home crowd in this Asean Para Games would boost my confidence and I will not want to let them down.
"A gold in my fourth attempt would prove to Malaysians all my efforts did not go to waste," he told reporters after a "Kita Juara" media conference here today.
Meanwhile, national para badminton squad manager Dr Naharuddin Hashim said 26 players would be taking part in 14 events in the APG.
Naharuddin is also targeting to claim at least four gold medals for the national contingent.
"From the 14 events in the competition, we hope to win four or five gold medals.
"If we keep our focus in the final two weeks, I believe we could deliver more than the target of four," he said.
The national para badminton squad raked in three gold medals at the Asean Para Games in Singapore two years ago. — Bernama