The quarterfinals of the PETRONAS National Championship kicked off strongly with the mixed doubles clash between national pairs Isyraf Hafizin-Aina Hatta and the pair of Ahmad Zulwaqqarizal Ahmad-Teh Si Yan, where momentum favoured Isyraf-Aina as they secured a convincing 21-8 21-17 victory.

According to Isyraf, the match was intense despite facing their own teammates, who possess significant strengths and advantages over them.

“As they are our teammates, we make sure that we do not feel too nervous, but we are aware of their advantages, especially Zulwaqqarizal, who is not a common player as his smash is much stronger and more powerful than ours, so we had to focus a lot on our defence,” he explained.

Aina added that although it was an all-national matchup, she felt satisfied that they managed to deliver a strong performance, especially after coming from an intense three-set battle the day before.

“Actually, I think we improved a lot from yesterday’s game and today, we already knew how to communicate better to ensure we had chemistry on court, especially since this is our first time pairing and we took a while to find the perfect rhythm,” she said.

Elsewhere, the pair of Datu Anif-Tan Zhing Hui also advanced after defeating Selangor’s Azman siblings Nurfirdaus-Siti Nurshuhaini 21-17 21-15. Meanwhile, Tan Zhi Yang-Nicole Tan continued their strong run by overcoming World Junior Champion Goh Jin Wei and her Penang partner Ng Eng Chong, 21–12 21–14.

Not to be left out, Wee Yee Tern-Clarissa San also followed in their teammates’ footsteps, cruising comfortably past Selangor’s Haris Suffian-Xuan Lim with a dominant 21-9, 21-6 win.

Meanwhile, in the women’s singles department, Shaneesa Shahidi continued booking a spot to the semi final after defeating her opponents Chong Shi Ming in a three intense set game 16-21 21-12 21-7.