NATIONAL No 4 Aifa Azman targets a winning return to competitive squash after a lapse.
The promising 19-year-old has seen her career stall after not competing in any Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour events for more than 18 months as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Kedahan was on the upswing prior to the pandemic but has now seen her ranking suffer, slipping from a career high world No 57 to 65.
Thus Aifa looks forward to the SRAM PSA 5 tournament on Sept 28-Oct 1 at the National Squash Centre.
"I'm so happy to finally get a chance to compete again.
"I'm really looking forward to this tournament because my ranking has been dropping," said Aifa.
"I have been staying sharp and my preparation has been good since we were allowed to return to the courts to train last month.
"I really want to win the tournament next week although I expect a strong challenge from everyone else," she added.
The SRAM PSA 5 meet is the first competition by the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia since April last year. It will, however, only be an all-Malaysian competition with no foreign players.
Aifa, who is the women's top seed and the favourite for the title, will start by meeting junior K. Sehveetrraa in the first round.
And Aifa is expected to meet elder sister Aika in the quarter-finals with fourth seed Yee Xin Ying a potential opponent in the semi-finals.
The men's event will feature national No 2 Ivan Yuen as the top seed with backup players Darren Rahul Pragasam and Ong Sai Hung the second and third seeds respectively.