PETALING JAYA: There was a huge smile on national junior squash player Mohd Syafiq Kamal’s face when he arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang on Saturday.
The 16-year-old can certainly be pleased with himself after being the stand-out performer as Malaysia snatched the boys’ team gold medal – from the jaws of defeat – at the Asian Youth Games (AYG) in Nanjing, China, on Friday.
Syafiq, who hails from Kelantan but studies and trains at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) in Kuala Lumpur, played the match of his life to beat India’s individual gold medallist Kush Kumar in five sets as Malaysia overcame the tournament favourites 2-1.
It proved to a double delight for Malaysia as the girls’ – led by Rachel Arnold and Vanessa Raj – also won the team gold after beating Hong Kong 2-0 in the final.
Syafiq, who is one of the most promising juniors in the national set-up, credited his win over Kush to the support of his team-mates – Ng Eain Yow and Darren Chan.
He also ranked the team gold medal as “one my best achievements”.
“I’m really happy to have contributed such a vital point to the team,” he said.
“I was sad after losing to Kush in the individual final ... that spurred me to give my best in the team final.
“Although Eain Yow lost the first match (to Vijay Meena) and the pressure was on me, I was calm throughout. What got me through was the burning desire to win.”
National junior coach Andrew Cross said that winning both the team gold medals “is the right step in preparing the juniors to take the step up to professional squash”.
“It was a really good trip ... we won three golds, a silver and a bronze. The boys worked really hard and deserved the gold medal,” said Cross.
“Winning both team golds also means a lot to the team as we have not won a team event for a long time. This shows we’re back in business ... the kids deserve all the credit.
“The crucial matches were won by Rachel (Arnold) in the girls’ event and Syafiq ... they both delivered when it mattered most. After Syafiq won, Darren was also really impressive in sealing the win for the team.
“But the players must come back down to earth so we can prepare them for other events. Hopefully, we can start preparing these players for more professional matches in the future.”
The promising display at the AYG goes to show that the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) are doing the right thing in preparing for the future.
For now, Rachel and Vanessa will prepare for the CIMB Malaysian Open, which starts from Sept 10-15.
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