Young Ainaa earns call up for British Junior Open

Impressive youngster Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi set to make her maiden trip to England to compete at British Junior Open next year.

KUALA LUMPUR: Twelve-year-old Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi received a double joy last week.

Firstly, the Standard Six student of SRK Jalan Raja Muda Kampung Baru scored 4As and 1B in her Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examinations.

A few days later, she found out she had selected by the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) to feature in the girls’ Under-13 category of the prestigious British Junior Open in Sheffield from Jan 2-6.

She could hardly contain her joy as “this will be first trip to England”.

“I’m so excited ... not only did I do well in my UPSR examinations, I’ll be representing Malaysia in an international tournament for the first time as well!” she exclaimed.

“This has boosted my confidence and I will train harder for the prestigious British Junior Open.

“I want to thank my two elder brothers (Mohd Amir Farhan and Mohd Aqif) for introducing me to squash when I was only five.

“They’ve guided and motivated me all this while. Now, all my hard work in training are paying off,” added Noor Ainaa, who has made steady progress in squash.

Earlier this year, she bagged the girls’ Under-13 title in the CIMB Rising Star in Malacca and was runner-up in the National Schools (MSSM) championships in Seremban.

Last month, she emerged champion in the Under-13 Ong Beng Hee and Nicol David Trophy in Seremban.

Noor Amani’s focus right now is on doing well in the eighth edition of the ongoing REDtone Kuala Lumpur International Junior Open Championships at the Jalan Duta Courts in Kuala Lumpur.

Second seed Noor Ainaa, who received a first-round bye, defeated Ong Wei Chin 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 in the second round and N. Shasmithaa 11-9, 11-3, 11-7 in the third round.

She, however, had to come back from a set down to beat Nurul Farzana Fairuz 3-11, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10 to set up a semi-final clash against joint fourth seed M. Kiroshanna on Friday.

“I’m quite happy with my performance thus far. My aim is to win the title. It will be a good boost to my morale ahead of the trip to England,” said Noor Ainaa.