KUALA LUMPUR: Top junior shuttler Eogene Ewe held his nerves to clinch the Malaysia Junior International Challenge boys' singles crown on Sunday.
Despite facing a strong resistance from compatriot Jan Jireh Lee, the No. 1 seed, Eogene still prevailed 10-21, 21-19, 21-18 in the final in Perlis.
The Penang-born athlete expressed relief at achieving this breakthrough, particularly after a challenging couple of months.
Eogene was part of the team that returned empty-handed from the Asian Junior Championships in July.
The 18-year-old and several other junior players are currently training with the national senior squad.
It is to improve their chances at the World Junior Championships in the United States on Sept 25-Oct 8.
While it is important to note that most of the big names in the junior circuit did not compete in Perlis, it was still a big deal for Eogene to come out tops.
"I know I cannot be satisfied. My ultimate goal is the World Junior Championships, but it's still a worthy achievement.
"My confidence has increased.
"Training with the seniors has been a great learning curve for me. I've picked up a lot from the senior coaches and players.
"I hope to go to the world meet and make an impression," said Eogene.
At the previous World Junior Championships in Spain, Malaysia came home empty-handed.The shuttlers will depart for Washington on Thursday.
Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing upstaged Faiq Haziq-Lok Hong Quan 16-21, 22-20, 21-17 in the all-Malaysian boys' doubles final.
In another all-Malaysian final, Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing overcame Faiq Haziq-Lok Hong Quan 16-21, 22-20, 21-17 to win the boys' doubles title.
Malaysia could have made it three out of three, but top-seeded mixed doubles pair Low Han Chen-Chong Jie Yu lost 14-21, 21-16, 21-16 to Indonesia's Anselmus Breagit Fredy Prasetya-Bernadine Anindya Wardana.