Jesse’s not letting injury get in the way of British Juniors

Jesse Foo (right) in action during the National Junior Squash Championship in February. - Filepic

PETALING JAYA: A swollen foot will not stop Jesse Foo from giving his best at the British Junior Open squash championships in Sheffield from Jan 2-6.

The 15-year-old Jesse, who trains under Shamsul Bahary in his hometown in Kota Baru, picked up the injury during the national camp in Bukit Jalil last week.

Jesse, a semi-finalist at the Asian Junior Championships in Iran and a winner at the Malaysian Junior Open in June this year, is confident he will be fully fit by the time the competition starts.

“I’m not in top form right now as I only managed to make the Under-17 quarter-finals at the Redtone KL International Junior Open earlier this month,” said Jesse.

“But I’m well prepared for my second British Juniors and I’m pretty excited at the opportunity as well.

“Winning the Malaysian Junior Open was my best result of the year although I know I can still improve. I don’t want to think too far ahead yet. I hope to make the quarter-finals in Sheffield and take it from there,” said Jesse, who made the second round as an unseeded player in the Under-15 category last year.

This time, Jesse has been seeded joint 17th-32nd in the Under-17 category.

He will play Dan Christopher of Wales in the first round. If he clears the hurdle, he is tipped to face joint ninth-16th seed Ranjit Singh of India in the second round.

National junior coach Andrew Cross is banking on Jesse to make an impact.

“The battle for the Under-17 crown is pretty open. Two years ago, Peru’s Diego Elias came through to win the Under-17 title. This shows that anything can happen in this category,” said Cross.

Besides Jesse, Malaysia will also be represented by top junior Ng Eain Yow and Eugene Heng in the Under-17 category.

The 16-year-old Eain Yow is the top seed and is favourite to land a third British Junior title. He won the Under-13 title in 2011 and the Under-15 title in 2013.

The Malaysian team left for Sheffield on Tuesday. They will enjoy a short Christmas break before participating in a warm-up tournament - the Pontefract Junior Open from Dec 27-30.