Low ends junior career on a high as Jinoreeka jumps for joy at Asian junior

All smiles: Low Wa Sern celebrating with his medal and plate after claiming the Asian Junior Championships Under-19 title in Gimcheon, South Korea.

PETALING JAYA: Promising squash player Low Wa Sern showed he’s ready for the big league after ending his junior career in style by winning the boys’ Under-19 title at the Asian Junior Championships in Gimcheon, South Korea.

The second seed Wa Sern put up a solid display to upstage top seed and home favourite Na Joo-young with a superb 11-8, 11-6, 4-11, 13-15, 11-5 win at the Gimcheon Squash Centre yesterday.

It was also Wa Sern’s second Asian Junior win, having won the Under-17 title in 2023 against Joo-young as well in Dalian.

“This is a special win because it’s my last as a junior,” said Wa Sern.

“All my hard work has paid off. The last set was draining but I kept my focus to get the points.

Coach Shahril Shahidan was pleased with Wa Sern’s energetic show.

“Wa Sern was great. He worked really hard and did not give up even though he let slip a 2-0 lead,” said Shahril.

“He did not give his opponent any chance to comeback in the final set.”

Rising player Jinoreeka Ning also displayed a superb performance to win the girls’ Under-15 title to mark her steady growth.

The second seed Jinoreeka kept it solid to beat India’s unseeded Saanvi Kalanki 11-4, 11-6, 12-10.

She was thrilled to win her second junior title, having pocketed the Under-13 title two years ago in Dalian, China, and promised to keep winning.

“My performance was very good and I’m happy to be playing here. I’m looking forward to winning more titles,” said Jinoreeka from Perak.

Shahril credited Jinoreeka for her flawless approach in the game.

“It was a straightforward match for her (Jinoreeka). The opponent was far in standard compared to her, and I’m happy to see her win,” he said.

However, Malaysia’s hope of bagging four gold medals at the tournament was dashed as M. Nickhileswar and Harleein Tan settled for silvers.

Nickhileswar failed to defend his boys’ Under-17 title as India’s Aryaveer Dewan took the title after winning 11-5, 11-8, 11-3.

In the girls’ Under-17 final, Harleein put up a good fight but was defeated by Hong Kong’s Helen Tang 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7.

It was a drop in overall performance by Malaysia after bagging three gold medals at last year’s edition in Pakistan.

FINAL RESULTS

Boys

Under-19: Low Wa Sern (Mas) bt Na Joo-young (Kor) 11-8, 11-6, 4-11, 13-15, 11-5.

Under-17: Aryaveer Dewan (Ind) bt M. Nickhileswar (Mas) 11-5, 11-8, 11-3.

Under-15: Nauman Khan (Pak) bt Ahmad Rayyan Khalil (Pak) 12-10, 11-6, 11-2.

Under-13: Mohd Sohail Adnan (Pak) bt Ayaan Dhanuka (Ind) 11-5, 11-2, 11-13, 11-6.

Girls

Under-19: Anahat Singh (Ind) bt Cheung Tsz Ching (Hkg) 11-7, 11-2, 11-8.

Under-17: Helen Tang (Hkg) bt Harleein Tan (Mas) 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7.

Under-15: Jinoreeka Ning (Mas) Saanvi Kalanki (Ind) 11-4, 11-6, 12-10.

Under-13: Yin Ziyuan (Chn) bt Mahnoor Ali (Pak) 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10.