KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia progressed into the top four of the World Junior Team Squash Championships after pulling off a stunning 2-1 win over third seeds England in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
It was the first time in eight years since Malaysia final four back in 2006.
The fifth seeded Malaysians got off to a brilliant start in Windhoek, Namibia, when two-time British Junior Open Ng Eain Yow held his nerves to beat Lyell Fuller in five sets.
Eain Yow who only made the third round in the individual event last week, fought his way back for a 14-12, 7-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9 win in 68 minutes.
England however were given a lifeline when their No.1 player George Parker, edged out Mohd Syafiq Kamal 11-7, 10-12, 11-3, 11-9 in the second tie.
It then all left to Darren Chan. And the 17-year-old did not disappoint, turning in a heroic performance by beating Patrick Rooney - a player the bigger and taller than himself - 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 to seal the last four ticket for the team.
Malaysia whose last appearance at the Championships which yielded a sixth-place finish in 2008, will go on to face second seeds Pakistan, who eliminated seventh seeds Finland 2-0.
“This is the match that we have been aiming to win and the boys really stepped up in a big way,” said national junior coach Andrew Cross.
“This is a team game and the boys had superb team spirit, fighting for each other and that really counted.
“It will be tough against Pakistan because we’ve had a few tough games along the way while they are fresh. But the boys work hard as a team and the pressure is not on us.”
In other results, top seeds Egypt defeated Ireland 2-0 while sixth seeds Spain stunned fourth seeds India 2-1.
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