ZAKRY-FARIZZIZUAN JOIN KLRC

Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif and Mohd Fairuzizuan Tazari today announced that they had signed up with professional outfit KLRC.

The duo, which announced their departure from Badminton Association of Malaysia on August 20, 2011, said that their decision to join KLRC was made on Friday.

And they also made it clear that the decision to be part of KLRC was made only after the BAM had given their consent to leave the national set-up.

“We opted for KLRC as they have in place a program that best suits our needs. It was we who approached them as we knew that KLRC was a club that would help us achieve our dreams of playing at the London Olympics next year,” said Zakry at the KLRC Hari Raya Open House today.

“Having announced our decision to leave BAM last month, we had considered several options but found that KLRC was best suited for us. And it was just before Hari Raya that we approached KLRC and held discussions.”

The duo savored the best moments of their career when they won back-to-back titles – the Singapore and Indonesian Super Series in 2008 preached as high as No. 4 in the world rankings at one stage.

Fairuzizuan said that they had considered their options before deciding to become independent players.

“ It was not an easy decision to make but something we had to do as we too have dreams and are willing to work hard to achieve them,” said Fairuzizuan.

“ Having opted to become independent, we know that it will be tough but with the guidance of KLRC, we believe that our mission to be a feared pair will materialize.

They will train at the New Vision Badminton Academy with the rest of the KLRC players and also utilize the sparring opportunities with BAM players at Stadium Juara thrice a week.

The first tournament that the pair will play together will be at the Indonesian Grand Prix Gold in Kalimantan from the 27^th September to 2^nd of October.

They are also scheduled to participate in French Super Series, Denmark Open Premier Series, Hong Kong Super Series, China Open Premier Series, Macau Open Grand Prix Gold, Korean Open Grand Prix Gold and India Open Grand Prix Gold this year.

Statement From Dato’ Sri Andrew Kam

Director of KLRC Berhad:

"We are happy that Zakry and Fairuzizuan have opted to join KLRC and I must reiterate that this was done on their own accord. We at KLRC spare no efforts to help them achieve their dream of playing in the 2012 London Olympics.

As professional players it will not be easy and much depends on the effort they are willing to put in. Our task is to ensure that players are given the opportunities to achieve their desired goals and ambition.

The pair has indicated that they still have the desire to play top-level badminton and KLRC wants to give them a platform so as to enable Zakry and Fairuzizuan achieves their desired goals.

Our policy has always been to help talented individuals to excel and our commitment towards this is reflected in the number of junior and senior players we have sponsored over the years.

KLRC Berhad has always supported the promotion and development of badminton in the country in particular and the world. Hence we look towards complementing the efforts of the national body in uplifting the standard of badminton in Malaysia. “

PLAYERS WITH KLRC BERHAD

Singles

1.       Muhammad Hafiz Hashim – Malaysia

2.       Zulfadli Zulkifli - Malaysia

3.       K. Yogendran - Malaysia

4.       Julia Wong – Malaysia

5.       Petya Nedelcheva - Bulgaria

6.       Anastasia Russikh – Russia

7.       Karyn Velez - USA

8.       Yasmin Cury – Brazil

9.       Irina  Inozemtseva– Russia

10.   Malvinne Poca Alcala – Philippines

Doubles

1.    Gan Teik Chai - Malaysia

2.    Tan Bin Shen - Malaysia

3.    Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif - Malaysia

4.    Fairuzizuan Tazari - Malaysia

5.    Karen Foo Kune – Mauritius

6.    Lotte Jonathans – Holland

About KLRC Berhad

KLRC Berhad (formerly known as The KL Racket Club Berhad) was formed with an intention to enable it to contribute to society in various areas, one of which is sports.

In sports, KLRC’s contribution is by way of providing sponsorship and funds (for the purpose of education or otherwise) to deserving sportspersons/individuals to assist in nurturing their capabilities.

KLRC holds the idea that there is value in each person and therefore encourages individual development in all areas. Our mission is to foster, support, educate and encourage the development of young talents, particularly in the area of racket sports by providing funds to assist in nurturing their capabilities.

All these are done with the hope of creating a continuous pool of talent who will one day bring pride and joy to their respective nations in an area where excellence by an individual is achievable and whereby champions are made.

The guiding principles that KLRC strongly believes in, practices and adheres to are the fundamental principles of Olympism, and the one principle in particular is’ “Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play”.