A clean slate for Darren after foiled sweep

THE past is past, you can only keep moving forward. That will be national squash player Darren Rahul Pragasam’s philosophy at the SEA Games.Darren still remembers the dreadful 0-2 loss the Malaysians suffered to the Philippines in the team event semi-finals in Kuala Lumpur in 2017.

Ng Eain Yow and Darren shockingly lost their first two matches in the best-of-three clash.

Their defeat spoiled what could have been a clean sweep of seven golds from the seven events that the squad contested in. Squash bagged six golds, four silvers and two bronzes.

Darren has put that behind him and hopes to start afresh in this edition when squash takes place from Dec 1-9 at the Manila Polo Club.

This time, he will feature in the singles and also in the men’s team event with Addeen Idrakie, Ong Sai Hung and Ryan Pasqual.

“The defeat two years ago taught me a lot about how to deal with the pressure of playing in a team event like this, ” said Darren.

“It’s different from when you are playing for yourself. Anything can happen in a team event, so now I am more aware and ready. I believe that experience and the last two years of playing has made me a more mature player.

“At the same time, I don’t see this as a chance to make up for the past. I am just hungry to win and do well this time. We have all worked hard and now it’s time to show the results of our hard work.”

Darren will be making his debut in the singles event with Addeen. The two carry a huge responsibility of helping to meet Malaysia’s four-gold medal target.

With the burden on him, Darren said he would not take any of his opponents for granted.

“It feels great that I get to play in the singles as well this time around. Addeen will definitely be the favourite but we still have a long way to go to the final.

“We cannot overlook Samuel Kang from Singapore and also Robert Garcia of Philippines. They are tough players and we have to stay aware of them.”