Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan has set goals straight, playing in a team with Low Zi Yu. The duo had marvelous results in junior tournaments and ranked 70 in the world in women's doubles.

Last week at the Australian Badminton Open, they had a good start but made an exit after the quarterfinals. Now, for the upcoming games, Noraqilah reflected on her goals and her partnership with Low Zi Yu. She said that she and her partner are first looking forward to getting into the top 50 and will then further aim to get higher in the rankings.

As of now, Zi Yu and I are aiming for the top 50 first. After that, maybe we can look at the top 32. We want to go rank by rank, she said. Their partnership started on an odd circumstance as Zi Yu's partner, Dania Sofea Zaidi, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and was forced to sit out of the Malaysia Junior women's doubles. 

Following that, Noraqilah was paired with Zi Yu, and the two settled for the silver medal at the 2025 World Junior Championship. It was their first outing together. I didn't really have any expectations when I started partnering Zi Yu because I was more focused on mixed doubles before this, said Noraqilah. But after partnering with her, I realised we can compete with players who are ranked much higher than us. We just trained as usual and took things one tournament at a time.

They suffered a setback in their last outing but would be hoping for a better outing in the upcoming tournaments. However, they are unlikely to partner for the next at least seven weeks.

Zi Yu Prepares to Play with Noraqilah's Sister

The duo will have a break for the next few weeks as Zi Yu is set to play with Noraqilah's sister, Noraina, at the Asian Junior Championships. The tournament is scheduled from June 26 to July 5 in Japan. During this period, Noraqilah plans to work on her skills.  What I've learned from the tournaments is that there are still many things I need to improve. 

The biggest thing is consistency, she said. When you play against top players, they are not easy to kill off. You need to stay patient and consistent throughout the match.

While there is still no update on when we can see them together, earlier in the season, the duo had notable results. They won the Estonian International 2026. The duo's other highlight from this season was at the China Masters, where they settled for second place. Low Zi Yu has had an impressive time playing with Noraqilah, but it will be interesting to see her with Noraina at the Yatsushiro event later this month.

Written by

Tanu