Farraz Haidar Akbar brought the trophy of second place to men’s singles category MPHTJ – MLTA Malaysia tennis championship

Kuala Lumpur, ITS News – Student of the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Surabaya, Indonesia triumphed as the second winner of men’s singles tennis at the Majlis Hang Tuah Jaya Competition (MPHTJ) – Malaysia’s Malacca Lawn Tennis Association (MLTA), late 2018.  This prestigious event was attended by leading participants from several countries in Southeast Asia.

It was Farraz Haidar Akbar, a student in the ITS Department of Civil Infrastructure Engineering who managed to make Indonesia famous in the neighboring country. He participated in this event on his own initiative to challenge his abilities in tennis against participants from countries throughout Southeast Asia.

“This competition is international standard because it is participated by participants from several countries outside Malaysia in the Southeast Asia region such as Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia,” explained the man who is familiarly called Farraz.

From the initial round to the final MPHTJ – MLTA Malaysia Melaka, Farraz felt most impressed with the match in the semifinals, because he competed against Haziq who was the superior one from Malaysia.

The game was fierce, but eventually he was able to defeat Haziq and advance to the final round. “My point was left behind, but I did not expect to win from Malaysia’s superior one with the score of 8-5,” Farraz said with sparkling eyes.

In the final round, Farraz faced Malaysian second best David Lee. But after struggling with all his effort, he must be satisfied to be runner up or in second place after losing in the score of 5-8.

This defeat is not being a barrier to Farraz, that actually gave him the motivation to continue developing his tennis game. “Regret of this defeat is true, but I interpret it that I have to practice harder,” said Farraz.

Just to note, Farraz has started playing this tennis court since he was in the first grade of elementary school. His father who loved tennis was the one who made him know tennis from a young age.

Farraz has also won many champions in this tennis field before. Some of the most recent champions he has won include the first winner of the 2018 Ganesha ITB Cup at Bandung Institute of Technology, second place in men’s doubles category Universitas Jember Cup 2018, and third place in men’s doubles national champion Pati Open 2018.

Not only his father, Farraz apparently also admired world tennis athlete Roger Federer. He hopes that later he can be like his idol who has relaxed playing style, but stays focused in the match.

In Farraz’s view, Roger Federer is consistent with what he has built. “Now Roger Federer’s age has entered 37 years, but his playing style and consistency are able to make him remain the top five world tennis player,” concluded the 2015 class student. (ram/owi/Anjani/ITS Public Relation Officer)

Farraz Haidar Akbar (right) while receiving a charter at the MPHTJ – MLTA Malaysia tennis championship.