KUALA LUMPUR: A fit and hungry Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan is eager to resume action, starting with the Ohana 34th National Championships at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil on July 4-8.
The national No 1 has enjoyed a fine run of form this year, winning the Manitoba Open in Canada in March before going on to clinch a historic bronze medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.
Nafiizwan, 32, however, was unfortunate to be sidelined by a painful left calf injury at the British Open last month.
The determined world No. 42 has however declared himself fit as he looks to pick up the momentum once again, with an eye on competing at the Indonesia Asian Games from Aug 18-Sept 2.
“It was a painful calf injury, it was probably because I’ve been playing non-stop since the start of the year,” said Nafiizwan.
“Right now I am probably 95 percent fit. I still need to do a fitness test but I definitely want to play in the nationals because it’s preparation for the Asian Games.
“For us Malaysian players, the nationals and the Malaysian Open (July 17-22) will be our only chance to tune up for the Asian Games.
“Of course the Asian Games is still the bigger target for me and I certainly hope to replicate the same form I had during the Commonwealth Games.”
Nafiizwan, who was national champion in 2015 and 2016, will start out as the top seed and favourite for his third title in the Premier division.
The Terengganu-born is however expected to face a strong challenge from a rejuvenated defending champion - Ivan Yuen, whom he lost to in the final last year.
Ivan, the national No. 3, regained some form after ending a three-year drought on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour by winning back-to-back titles at the New Zealand International Classic and the NZ Southern Open earlier this month.
It is the 27-year-old’s seventh and eighth PSA titles and he will surely enter the national meet with renewed confidence.
The other challengers for the men’s crown will be youngsters - national No. 2 Ng Eain Yow, who has beaten Ivan twice in PSA meets last year, and national No. 4 Mohd Syafiq Kamal.
In the women’s Premier division, national No. 2 S. Sivasangari, who was recently named as the PSA Young Player of the Year, will be the favourite for her maiden national crown in the absence of eight-time world champion Nicol David.
Her main challengers will be former world No. 5 Low Wee Wern, who is making an injury comeback after more than a year on the sidelines, rising star Aifa Azman and Sea Games silver medallist Rachel Arnold.
An interesting twist to the nationals this year is that it will also serve as a selection for the Indonesia Asian Games. A total of 31 players will feature in the men’s premier division, the biggest number of entries in recent years while the women’s Premier division will have 16 players.
Other categories in the national meet are the men’s and women’s Division 1, men’s Masters over-35, over-50 and over-60 categories. There is also a new Squash57 category featuring an open division for over-40, over-50 and over-60 age-groups. Co-Sponsor Dunlop continues to support the Nationals for the 9th year running by offering prizes to the top eight finishers in each division.
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