THE Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) are banking on Mohd Asyraf Azan, Ivan Yuen and Tan Yan Xin to win their respective age group in the Hong Kong Junior Open which begins today.
Mohd Asyraf is the top seed in the Boys’ Under-17 while Ivan and Yan Xin are favourites for the Boys’ Under-15 and Girls’ Under-13 respectively.
SRAM executive director Kol (R) Wong Ah Jit said 21 players left yesterday for the championships, the second biggest junior tournament in Asia.
The biggest is the Milo-Junior All Stars in Petaling Jaya which ended at the Astaka Courts in June.
The tournament will serve as good exposure for Elvinn Keo and Chong Kam Hin who are members of the World Junior Men’s team tol compete in Auckland, New Zealand next year.
“This is their first international outing for the year and I believe they are geared up for it. A lot of good players will be there and they can expect some stiff challenge. Besides, they will want to prove their seeding,” said Ah Jit.
He added Marcus, younger brother of Ivan, is also capable of lifting the Boys’ Under-13 title so is Rachel Goh, the National Girls’ Under-15 champion.
Other players in the forefront include Al-Nikc Ally Abdul Rahim (Boys’ Under-11), Yong Sue Yan (Girls’ Under-11) and Nessrine Ariffin and Low Wee Nee (both Girls’ Under-15).
Missing from the list were the World Women Junior squad comprising Sally Looi, Low Wee Wern, Siti Munirah Jusoh and Nabilla Ariffin, all of who competed in the just concluded SportExcel-NSC-Milo National junior circuit at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.