Gap remains, but future looks bright for juniors

From left: V. Haneesha, Doyce Lee, Harleein Tan, Whitney Isabelle Wilson. Credit - World Squash

PETALING JAYA: The gap in standard between the Malaysian and Egyptian players remains wide, but national coach Nafiizwan Adnan was still pleased with the performances of Whitney Isabelle Wilson and her teammates at the World Junior Team Championships.

On Friday, Malaysia went down 0-2 to Egypt in the final at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada.

Nafiizwan said the girls gave their best, but Egypt proved to be formidable opponents.

“The girls were seeded fourth, but they did well to upset second seeds Hong Kong in the semi-finals to reach the final,” said Nafiizwan.

“We are very happy with their performance.”

Whitney, Doyce Lee, Harleein Tan and V. Haneesha had stunned second seeds Hong Kong 2-0 in the semi-finals, but their fine run was halted by the powerful Egyptians in the title-match.

Malika Elkarasky took the first point after beating Whitney 11-7, 11-5, 12-10, before Habiba Rizk blew away Doyce 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 to seal the win.

It was Malaysia’s sixth runners-up finish while for Egypt, it was their 13th girls’ crown and 11th consecutive title.

The Malaysian boys’ team of Altamis Aqhar Sallam Sufian, Ivan Chang Jia Yu, M. Nickhileswar, and Aqil Mirza Naim Khairil Fariz had lost in the quarter-finals earlier after a 0-2 defeat to France.

Added Nafiizwan: “Our boys also showed good effort and we are proud of their capabilities and their result.”

Egypt made it a double joy when they defended the title with a 2-0 victory over the United States and it marked their ninth victory.

RESULTS

(Malaysian unless stated)

BOYS

Individual

Third round: Mohamed Zakaria (Egy) bt Altamis Aqhar Sallam Sufian 11-8, 11-0, 11-2; Marwan Assal (Egy) bt Aqil Mirza Naim Khairil Fariz 11-8, 11-2, 11-6; Dylan Roberts (Eng) bt Ivan Chang Jia Yu 11-4, 13-11, 11-5.

Fourth round: Maddox Moxham (Bel) bt M. Nickhileswar 14-12, 2-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7.

Team

Quarter-final: France bt Malaysia 2-0 (Amir Khaled-Jousselin bt M. Nickhileswar 11-6, 11-9, 11-3; Theo Baudry bt Altamis Aqhar Sallam Sufian 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9).

GIRLS

Individual

Second round: Diya Yadav (US) bt V. Haneesha 11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5.

Third round: Anahat Singh (Ind) bt Doyce Lee 11-4, 11-8, 11-3; Helen Tang (Hkg) bt Harleein Tan 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6.

Quarter-finals: Ruqayya Salem (Egy) bt Whitney Isabelle Wilson 4-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7.

Team

Final: Egypt bt Malaysia 2-0 (Malika Elkarasky bt Whitney Isabelle Wilson 11-7, 11-5, 12-10; Habiba Rizk bt Doyce Lee 11-2, 11-3, 11-3.