THE national juniors’ stellar performance at the Asian Junior Squash Individual Championships where they won five titles from seven finals has highlighted a few gems for the future.
This was especially apparent in the younger age groups where Malaysia won three out of the four titles in the girls' Under-13 and Under-15 via Anrie Goh and Aira Azman as well as the boys' Under-13 via Wong Lee Hong.
Joachim Chuah, who settled for runner-up to top seed Mohammad Hamza Khan of Pakistan in the boys Under-15, was also impressive.
The tournament, which was held in Macau, came to an end on Sunday.
Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) director of coaching Major (Rtd) S. Maniam believes his charges have strong potential.
"Lee Hong and and Anrie were outstanding in their wins, Anrie was down and had to come from behind and really claw her way back to victory.
"Both of them have a bright future ahead, very impressive play by these two young players. Aira had also shown great mental strength in her win as the crowd was behind her opponent.
"Joachim also played exceptional squash and gave Hamza a real run for his money.
"At many stages I felt that the game could have gone either way but in the end Hamza had a marginal edge.
"Joachim, however, is the player to watch for the future."
Malaysia also emerged victorious in the boys' Under-17 via Nathan Kueh and the girls' Under-19 through Chan Yiwen, who defeated teammate Aifa Azman in the final.
The national juniors’ next major assignment is the World Junior Individual and Team Championships in Bukit Jalil on July 30- Aug 9.