In the semi-finals of the 2009
National Grand Prix Finals here last Saturday, the duo were shown the
exit by veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, losing 7-21, 21-17, 12-21.
A
month before, they suffered a first-round exit in their opening
tournament for the year, the Malaysian Open. They were beaten by former
world champions Howard Bach-Tony Gunawan of the United States and
immediately came under fire from doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky.
It
cost them a place in the squad for the centenary All-England
championships in Birmingham from March 9-14 and they are also in danger
of not getting into the team for the Thomas Cup Finals to be hosted by
Malaysia in May.
“We are in a really bad situation,” said Fairuzizuan.
“The
coaches have made sure that we are well aware of it and they are coming
down hard on us by piling the pressure. It is not that we have sat back
and done nothing about it. But what we have done is just not enough.”
Fairuzizuan
added that while Zakry came under close scrutiny for having some weight
problem, he too felt the heat whenever things go wrong on court.
“We
are a team and whenever fingers are pointed at the partner, I feel the
blame too. We are dealing with our problems together and we hope that
we will produce results ahead of the Thomas Cup Finals,” he said.
The
27-year-old Fairuzizuan added that they had been putting in extra
effort to raise their fitness level from the beginning of the year to
be back at the top in their game.
He also said that they had been undergoing extra physical training sessions with more emphasis on cardiovascular exercise.
“It’s
hard for us having to double our efforts to improve our fitness level.
But it is a must-do situation because we have less than three months to
make it happen before the Thomas Cup Finals,” said Fairuzizuan.
“We are aiming for huge gains in our fitness and that translates into an incredible amount of physical training.”
All these, he said, put tremendous pressure on them.
“Pressure
for professionals like us are good to improve on our game. But I fear
if the amount of pressure is too great, it may bring negative results,”
said Fairuzizuan.
Courtesy of The Star
