Yiwen has her eyes fixed on Tze Lok in Asian meet

PETALING JAYA: National squash player Chan Yiwen is buzzing with confidence ahead of the Asian Championships from Dec 15-19 in Islamabad.

The 21-year-old from Alor Setar believes she can go all the way to the final if she clears the first two hurdles in the 16-women draw tournament.

She has been drawn to face world No. 251 Komal Khan in first round and if she wins, she will likely play world No. 40 Ho Tze Lok of Hong Kong in the quarter-finals.

Her confidence stems from the fact that she has sparred with top Hong Kong players in Kuala Lumpur recently.

The world No. 86 now has a better idea on how to face seeded players.

“The Hong Kong team have been training here for a week as part of their preparation for the Asian meet and I got to spar with them,” said Yiwen.

“I have not faced Komal before, but I am confident that I can beat her. I’ve beaten Tze Lok once, three years ago in the Malaysia Squash Tour IV quarter-finals but since then, she has improved a lot. It would be a different game for sure if we are to clash.

“I didn’t spar with her here but I’ve been watching her in videos, especially on her recent outings in the Malaysian Open and the Asian Team championships.”

Yiwen believed the pressure would be greater on Tze Lok, as she was seeded higher.

“If I beat her, I believe I can go all the way to the final, and that would be a great way to end 2021.”