Aidil's Vietnam Open success ends 27-month wait for men's singles glory

Aidil Sholeh’s stunning men’s singles victory at the just concluded Vietnam Open finally ended a 27-month wait for a Malaysian men’s singles title on the World Tour.

Aidil was in fine form in Vietnam, dispatching Singapore’s Jason Teh 21-16, 21-14 in the final to capture the Super 100 event on Sunday.

The 26-year-old’s victory sent fans into a frenzy, with some even comparing his performance to Lee Chong Wei’s deft footwork and Lin Dan’s brutal smashes in the final, which Teh had no answer to.

The Selangor-born’s near perfect performance also ended a long-awaited drought for a Malaysian men’s singles title, last won by Lee Zii Jia at the 2024 Australian Open.

Aidil’s victory is a testament that hard work, patience and perseverance will eventually reap its rewards.

The world number 91 was dropped by the Badminton Association of Malaysia in 2024, and he became an independent shuttler.

Coached by Nova Armada who also looks after national para-shuttler Cheah Liek Hou and Goh Jin Wei, Aidil began to chart his path without the support he was accustomed to.

His tame defeat to a much-lower ranked English opponent at the Thomas Cup last April drew criticism, and his confidence took a serious hit.

After the Thomas Cup, Aidil also had to play in qualifying rounds of several World Tour events due to his low ranking.

Despite crashing out of those qualifiers, the shuttler kept his head down and continued to put in the work, which has now culminated with his maiden career breakthrough.

Before this, Aidil had also reached two Super 100 finals in 2024 and last year, but could not secure a breakthrough.

The Vietnam Open success will hopefully inspire him to continue believing in himself and aim for bigger milestones in his career.