Newly-married Siddikur aims at Malaysian Open golf

Newly-wed Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh hopes wedding bliss will drive him towards a victory at the Asian Tour's season-opening Malaysian Open Feb 5-8.

The popular Bangladeshi, who recently married sweetheart Samaun Anjum Auroni in Dhaka, is gunning for a fast start to the new season at the $3 million showpiece which is co-sanctioned with The European Tour.

While he is still on the road to a full recovery from a back injury which curtailed his campaign last year, the double Asian Tour winner is confident after focusing on meditation and yoga in his pre-season preparation.

"I couldn't practice too much because of my injury. But I did a lot of yoga, swimming and meditation to try and recover physically and to make myself mentally strong. Now I feel prepared for my upcoming tournaments," Siddikur said Tuesday.

The Bangladeshi trailblazer will face a stellar cast at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club which includes defending champion Lee Westwood of England, three-time Asian Tour number one Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and Major champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland.

Newly crowned Asian Tour Order of Merit champion David Lipsky of the United States, second-ranked Anirban Lahiri of India and double champion Rashid Khan of India will also feature in the prestigious tournament alongside 18-time Tour winner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, 2013 Malaysian Open champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Liang Wen-chong of China, Asia's number one in 2007.

Siddikur's best finish at the Malaysian Open finished eighth in 2011 and with this year's tournament marking Maybank's 10th year as title sponsor, the Bangladeshi ace is hoping to launch a title charge.

"It's a nice golf course. It's true that it's a long course but I enjoy playing there and I feel comfortable there as well. I hope to play better and stay fit. If I can stay healthy, then I'm confident I can play well" said the 27-year-old.