KUALA LUMPUR: After five long years since his promotion to the national senior squad, shuttler Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin finally landed his first international title on Sunday.
Aidil, 23, was crowned Indonesia International Challenge champion after downing Japan's Keita Makino 21-14, 21-6 in the men's singles final in Surabaya.
For those unfamiliar with the shuttler, Aidil belongs to the same batch as world No. 17 Ng Tze Yong.
While this may be the Selangor-born's first international title, Aidil has come close to breaking his duck the last few years.
In 2019, he played second fiddle to then national teammate, Lim Chong King, at the Hellas Open, and last year lost in three games to Justin Hoh at the Malaysia International Challenge in Ipoh.
Aidil was also part of the men's team that won gold at the Asia Team Championships last year, the men's team that secured silver at the 2019 Sea Games and the mixed team that claimed bronze at the 2021 Sudirman Cup in Finland.
"I'm thrilled to have finally won an international title. My goal is to keep climbing up the world rankings to qualify for higher-tier tournaments," said world No. 106 Aidil, who will play in next week's Super 100 Indonesia Masters.
In a social media post, the BA Malaysia (BAM) posted: "Aidil sealed his first international title, congratulations.
"Here's to more in the future."
In the mixed doubles, Choong Hon Jian-Go Pei Kee, playing in their first final together, fell short in their bid to land their maiden international crown.
Hon Jian-Pei Kee, who were only paired up this year, lost 22-20, 18-21, 21-14 to Japan's Hiroki Nishi-Akari Sato of Japan.