LOW Wee Wern and Aifa Azman are Malaysia’s prospects in the Malaysian Open, which starts on Wednesday, at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.
Wee Wern has been in decent form. She reached the semi-finals at the US$30,000 (RM125,495) Hong Kong Open last week.
The National No 1, however, has been battling a knee tendon strain and whether she can return to full fitness by Wednesday remains to be seen.
Aifa’s strong run at the World Junior Championships followed by back-to-back wins at the North Coast and Melbourne Opens earned her the PSA Player of the Month award for August.
The Kedah born is now eager to make an impact in the tournament.
Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) director of coaching Major (Rtd) S.Maniam said: “I think Aifa is feeling good at the moment. She has done well since reaching the semi-finals of the world juniors.
“Overall, I am happy with the way she is playing. Let’s hope she continues her momentum in the Malaysian Open.
“It will be tougher here as the Malaysia Open is a higher-tier tournament.
“We will also have Wee Wern and Rachel Arnold to depend on in the women’s section.
“Similarly, we will also have our best players in Ng Eain Yow and Ivan Yuen in the men’s event, but again with players such as Max Lee (Hong Kong), who is a former top-10 player, in the mix, it will be a pretty strong (draw),” said Maniam.