Ivan bags higher education squash title

National squash player Ivan Yuen receiving his prize from YR1M project director Tee Joe Jer after winning the second leg of the IPT 1Malaysia Squash Circuit meet on Sunday.

PETALING JAYA: National No. 3 Ivan Yuen ended his year on a high, emerging triumphant in the second leg of the IPT 1Malaysia Squash Circuit.

Ivan, who represented Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), defeated national team-mate Mohd Addeen Idrakie 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 in the final at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.

Addeen of Universiti Malaya (UM) won the first leg of the circuit, which was initiated by the Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) and the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM), last month.

“I was confident of winning as I prepared well for the competition. Addeen deserved some credit for putting up a good challenge,” said Ivan.

“It’s good to win because it’s the last competition of the year for me. I will be taking a break to focus on my final exams (in Business Administration) in two weeks’ time,” he added.

UPM’s Mohd Amir Farhan took third spot after edging out Nilai University’s Shaun Kwan 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7.

In the women’s category, UPM’s Zulhijjah Azan emerged victorious after beating Sunway University’s Jadeleen Lee in the final.

The 24-year-old Zulhijjah who helped Malaysia to a historic second-place finish at the Women’s World Team Championship earlier this month, won 11-3, 11-9, 11-3.

Ilya Kareena Ibrahim of UiTM, the first-leg winner, finished third after beating MAHSA’s Sima Padbod 11-8, 11-7, 11-6.