Farez the second to get the chop during MCO

KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Farez Izwan Mohd Mukhtar has become the second squash player to be dropped from the national team during the movement control order (MCO).

Ryan Pasqual of Penang was dropped at the end of March – the MCO began on March 18 – while Sabahan Farez was dropped at the end of April.

The National Sports Council had decided that both players did not perform well in PSA tournaments.

The 21-year-old Farez, who turned professional in 2015, was targeted to break into the top 200 of the world rankings by the end of last year but he failed to do so.

His ranking in January last year was 289 and he ended the year ranked 277, well off the target set for him.

The saddened Farez is blaming himself at being axed from the team after five years.

“It is basically my fault for not performing well and failing to achieve the target that has been set for me.

“My downfall came after the World Junior Squash Championships (in Bielsko-Biala, Poland in 2016). My performance dropped after that.

“I tried very hard in training to lift my game but just did not improve. I was quite frustrated, ” said Farez, who has not won any PSA title.

His last outing in PSA tournament was in the Indian Tour in Jaipur in February. He lost in straight sets to Iran’s Navid Maleksabet in the second round.

“The good news is that I have been hired as a part-time coach to train Sabah boys’ and girls’ teams for Sukma (Malaysia Games) in Johor Baru next year March.

“I took the part-time coaching job as I am also doing private coaching in Kota Kinabalu.I want to pursue my career in coaching, ” said Farez.