THE past few months have been dismaying for national squash player Chan Yiwen.
After losing her father last December, the 19-year-old struggled with illness.
This led to Yiwen not able to produce results at a PSA Tour event in India in January. And things got worse for the World No 93 as the PSA Tour was eventually called off until the end of next month due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
And next, Yiwen was one of the nine (players and coaches) of the squash team thought to have “close contact” with hammer thrower Jackie Wong — Malaysia’s first national athlete to be infected with the coronavirus.
Fortunately, Yiwen was later taken off the “close contact” list, much to her relief.
Yiwen, a World Junior Championship team silver medallist, is trying to stay positive during these difficult times, especially with the National Squash Centre also closed due to the government’s Movement Control Order (MCO).
“It was a bit of a shock when we found out that Jackie came down with the virus and I was told that I could be on the close contact list,” admitted Yiwen.
“It wasn’t really his fault since the virus didn’t show any symptoms at that stage.
“And I’m really grateful and relieved when the liaison officer for the health authorities told me that I’m not on the close contact list.
“But I’m still going to be extra cautious and I’ll try my best to avoid big crowds.
“As an athlete, however, this is really a tough period for all of us because I’ve been training hard for the past two months.
“However, I believe this restriction order could be a positive thing for us to reset our minds and recharge. I’m definitely hungry for more squash.”
For now with no court sessions available, Yiwen is focused on building up her fitness levels at home.
“The coaches have given us a training menu for our stay-in period and that’s what we’ll be doing for the next 14 days,” said Yiwen.
“It’s going to be tough but I’ll be looking to keep myself busy with 100 sit-ups and pushups daily.
“Hopefully the situation eases up by April and we’ll be able to resume competitions,” she added.