Eain Yow thirsts for Asian Championships title after home hiccup

PETALING JAYA: National No. 1 Ng Eain Yow is still disappointed with his failure to defend the Malaysian Open title but he intends to erase the painful memory by winning the Asian Championships.

The 23-year-old Eain Yow is the top seed in the tournament starting tomorrow in Islamabad, Pakistan.

He did well to help Malaysia win the Asian Team Championships but that was not enough to soothe the pain of losing in the individual tournament at home.

Now, the world No.18 is determined to end the year on a winning note.

“It was a disappointing Malaysian Open for me,” said Eain Yow, who lost to Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez in the semi-finals last month.

“I did play better in the Asian team event but I know it was not good enough to redeem myself. The goal is to make it up at the Asian individual meet.

Eain Yow as been billed as the favourite but he did not see the seeded tag as a burden.

“I just have to stay focused and stick to my game plan. Pakistani players perform well at their home ground, but I’m confident of my game too. I don’t worry about my opponents,” he said.

He has received a first-round bye and will face either Sri Lanka’s Ravindu Laksari or Pakistan’s Farhan Zaman in the second round.

This year, Eain Yow has done well to break into the world’s top 20 rankings.

“Since being based in Bristol, England, my game and fitness have improved. It was in contrast to last year when I was 27th and struggled to break into the top 20,” he said.

“Overall, it was a good year, but I hope to do better and break into the top 10 next year and from there, build on to get to the number one spot.”