|
3rd July, 2009
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Squash Association (SSA) in its aggressive mode to promote and boost junior development has selected three of its elite junior players to compete in two international European Super Series events.
Since embarking on its long-term junior programme, SSA has enabled to nurture a few notable junior players, who have proven track records at national meets.
SSA spokesman Anthony Goh said yesterday, they have decided to send three players namely, Mohd Farez Izwan, Lai Win Kit and a girl Natasha Chin to compete in the coming Pioneer German Junior Squash Championship and the Dutch Junior Open meet.
The Pioneer German Squash meet is scheduled for July 3-9 and the Dutch clash is from July 9-12, where 11-year-olds Mohd Farez and Lai are set to compete in the Boy’s Under-13 category while Natasha in the Girl’s Under-13 category.
Goh added that in fact SSA, after getting the invitation from both the organisers through the Squash Racquet Association of Malaysia (SRAM), another player Farah Bazilah Shahari was initially among those selected.
Unfortunately, the youngster was forced to skip both the events after she sustained a thigh injury during the recent MILO All Star Championship held in Kuala Lumpur last month.
All these junior players are ranked among the top 10 in the country and are expected to be joined by a few older national players who will be taking part in older age group categories.
During the MILO All Stars event, Mohd Farez emerged as the Boy’s Under-11 champion and is now ranked first in Malaysia, while Lai and Natasha as well as Farah have shown good performances to warrant their berths to play in both the European meets.
He said their selection was also based on their consistency, constant improvement in their skill play, their dedication and commitment in the 5-leg CIMB Circuit and most important was their discipline in training that really counts.
With such exposure, SSA looks forward for them to return with satisfactory results and has not set any target for them because both events are high-profile championships, where most of the world’s top players will be in the fray.
However, this will be their golden opportunity to prove their worth and a chance to gain all the experience in big games in order to improve their game play altogether.
They have the quality and SSA feels that they have a chance to mount a strong challenge for them to mature into notable squash players.
|
