PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian juniors are a class apart at the Pontefract Junior Open, winning six events to become the dominant force in the squash tournament in West Yorkshire, England.
On Monday, the Malaysians secured three titles through Noor Ainaa Ampandi (girls’ Under-13), Nur Aliah Izzati (girls’ Under-15) and Mohd Hafiz Zhafri (boys’ Under-15).
And on Tuesday, Malaysia bagged three more.
Sixteen year-old Andrea Lee started the ball rolling by clinching the girls’ Under-17 title. She beat 13-year-old team-mate Aifa Azman 11-13, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7 in the final.
“It’s not easy to play Aifa although she is younger than me,” said Andrea. “She, however, lost her cool in the third set as some decisions went against her. I kept my composure and played my own game to win the match.”
After Andrea’s triumph, Ng Eain Yow went into action in the Under-17 final. The number one Malaysian junior made short work of Canadian Brett Schill, winning 11-4, 11-5, 12-10.
Teh Min Jie then bagged the sixth title for Malaysia in an all-Malaysian final, beating S. Sivasangari 11-8, 11-8, 14-12 in the girls’ Under-19 final.
Malaysia, however, failed to repeat last year’s performance of an eight-title sweep.
But national junior coach Andrew Cross was not disappointed with the haul.
“We didn’t enter any player in the boys’ Under-19 category. We won six with four runner-up finishes. I have no complaints,” said Cross.
The 20-member Malaysian team will now move on to compete in the British Junior Open, which begins on Friday in Sheffield.
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