KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Zulkiffli Sidek, the father-cum coach of World Junior Champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli, hopes to send his son to more international competitions to improve his ranking in the World Badminton Federation (BWF).

Zulkiffli hopes by competing in a number of elite tournaments, Zulfadli would be able to improve his ranking from the current 124th spot to finish among the top 100 by year end.

For a start, Zulfadli's father who is a full time coach at the Kuala Lumpur Racquet Club (KLRC) would send his son to the German Open Grand Prix Gold tournament from Feb 28 to March 4 and the Switzerland Open from March 13 18.

"I am not setting any lofty targets for Zulfadli in both the tournaments but my target is for him to improve on his ranking but putting up good performances," he told Bernama.

Zulkiffli, 48, said improving his son's ranking to the top 100 ranked players was important since only the top 100 players would have any chance of playing in the prestigious All England Super Series.

"Normally only the top 100 ranked players are eligible to compete in the All England and it is my target for Zulfadli to make his debut in the All England next year," he said.

He added that Zulfadli's performance would be taken into account before deciding to send him for other major tournaments.

"I will only make a decision (to send Zulfadli for other tournaments) based on his performances in the two tournaments. It will be pointless to send him for many tournaments if his performance does not improve," he said.

-Bernama