SEPANG: Newly crowned world junior champion Low Zi Yu has set her sights on qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Fresh from making history as Malaysia's first girls' doubles world junior champions with Genevie Lim, the 16-year-old said there is little time to waste.
Zi Yu will resume training with her senior circuit partner, Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan, to boost their world ranking ahead of LA28.
"I want to try to qualify for the Olympics. There is not much time left," she said upon the national junior badminton squad's arrival from Egypt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport today.
"We will focus on women's doubles because we already have a ranking and will compete together in upcoming senior tournaments."
World No. 44 Zi Yu-Noraqilah have shown promise, finishing runners-up at the Baoji Masters in May.
However, Zi Yu acknowledged that winning a world junior title does not automatically make her ready for senior titles.
"For now, I will go back and train more because I feel our ability is not yet at senior level," she said.
"We might be able to compete, but I don't think we have enough to win yet. So we have to return to training."
Meanwhile, Genevie is turning her attention to the senior circuit after ending her junior career with a gold in the girls' doubles and a silver in the mixed team event on her World Junior Championships debut.
The 18-year-old credited Zi Yu's experience for guiding her through the tournament.
"For me, this is a very good achievement at my first World Juniors. Of course, I want to thank my partner because she has a lot of experience and can guide me on court," Genevie said.
Having completed her junior career, Genevie said her next priority is establishing herself at senior level, though she does not have a permanent women's doubles partner yet.
"My junior career has ended, so now I want to focus on competing at senior level," she said.
"At the moment, I don't have a fixed partner."
National junior squad team manager Datuk Dr Vincent Chin said LA28 remains the target for both Zi Yu and Genevie, though the 2032 Brisbane Games is an alternative if 2028 comes too soon.
"They are still young. We will target both of them for the next Olympics in 2028, hopefully. Otherwise, 2032 is also possible," he said.
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