Eain Yow urges young athletes to step out of comfort zone

Reach for the sky: Eain Yow is encouraging young athletes to be brave and open to learning overseas.

PETALING JAYA: National squash player Ng Eain Yow is a prime example of how much a player can gain through overseas training. And he is encouraging younger athletes to emulate his path and pursue training opportunities abroad.

“To all the young players, don’t be scared,” said the 25-year-old Eain Yow.

“Be brave to go out and be open to learning ... and get used to playing players outside of Asia,” he said.

“That’s where I have learned the most.”

Eain Yow had the opportunity to undergo a two-week training stint in Bristol, England, in May 2019, an experience that proved to be an eye-opener for him.

That proved to be the turning point as Eain Yow opted to leave Malaysia and relocate to his current training base in November 2019.

The wisdom of this decision became evident when he climbed to a career-high No. 17 in June this year from his initial world ranking of No. 30.

Eain Yow believes that receiving advice and guidance from foreign players and coaches have played a crucial role in improving his form and skill.

“For me, if I didn’t take advice from everyone else outside of Malaysia, I think I wouldn’t be where I am today,” said Eain Yow, who is currently training under Hadrian Stiff.

“Be open to all the advice that you can get and don’t be afraid to ask from someone like me, for example.

“I’m more than happy to continue helping the younger players as they come up.

“I see potential in a few emerging players, like (C.) Ameeshen(raj), who has gone to the UK (United Kingdom) for training,” he said.

“There are so many emerging women players, but in the men’s category, there hasn’t been realistically anyone coming up after me.

“For the young ones, it’s just about believing that they can achieve something in their career.

“Keep working hard and that’s the big advice.

“For me, the biggest thing is not to get out of Malaysia, but to get experience outside.”

Women’s squash legend Datuk Nicol David, who is an eight-time world champion, was based in Holland since 2003 until her retirement in 2019.

Former world No. 10 Mohd Azlan Iskandar and Nafiizwan Adnan also made their strides on their own in London.