JOHOR BARU: Brotherly love has prompted doubles specialist Candra Wijaya (pic) of Indonesia to make his first international appearance with the younger Rendra in the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold championships.
The 34-year-old Candra will partner Rendra for a year to give an additional push to his brother’s badminton career.
The 25-year-old Rendra has been without a partner since his two-year partnership with Fran Kurniawan ended last year.
The duo won five international titles last year — the tournaments in Austria, Finland and Spain, the Indonesia Challenge and the Dutch Open.
Candra hopes that his partnership with his brother would take flight, starting with the GP Gold tournament here.
“I have never partnered him before to play in an international tournament. For now, he is out of the national team and he needs my help. My time is limited as a player and I have to help him now,” said Candra.
“I hope to pass on my experience and knowledge of the game to him. Hopefully, after a year, he will get a new partner and he will be able to make a name for himself.”
In the GP Gold tournament here, Candra-Rendra will take on Malaysians Lim Khim Wah-Ong Jian Guo in the first round tomorrow. If they win, they are set to play against second seeds Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong.
“It will be good if we can get a chance to play against Koo-Tan. It will give us a better indication of where we stand,” said Candra, who arrived here from Japan after participating in a professional badminton league.
“I have had a chance to train together with my brother in Jakarta before I left for Japan. We can combine well and hopefully we will get good results.”
