KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — Malaysian professional men’s singles shuttler, Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin claimed his first pro international title after winning the White Nights International Challenge Badminton Tournament in St Petersburg, Russia today. 

The 28-year-old, who turned pro last year after leaving the national setup, edged Siddharth Pratap Singh of India, winning 21-13, 21-16 in the final match held at the Arena Generala Knysha Street, according to the tournament website.

On his way to the title, Iskandar Zulkarnain defeated Siddharth’s teammate, Rahul Yadav Chittaboina 21-15, 21-18 in the first round and Camilo Borst of Germany (21-3, 21-8) in the second.

Iskandar then dislodged Austrian shuttler, Wolfgang Gnedt with a 21-16, 21-16 victory in the third round, before downing Misha Zilberman of Israel 21-9, 22-20 in the quarter-finals.

He, however, was stretched to a rubber set tie against Kalle Koljonen of Finland before securing a 21-17, 19-21, 21-12 win in the semi-finals. — Bernama