KUALA LUMPUR: Kreethi Pillay Muniswaran hopes his British Junior Open (BJO) debut in Birmingham from Jan 3-7 won't be a short-lived one though all indications say so.
The Penangite, who will play a qualifier in the boys' Under-17 first round, is expected to meet Egypt's top seed Youssef Salim in the second.
And the formbook is against Kreethi, who took up squash at the age of 10.
"I never expect to face defending champion Youssef in the second round. I have never played him before but it will be really tough for me. Youssef has been in top form and he won the Under-17 title in January this year,
"But I hope to get an upset win. Although it will be an uphill task against Youssef, anything can happen.
"It's very expensive for me to compete in the BJO, and I don't want to waste SRAM's (Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia) money for my trip.
"I don't have much exposure to international competitions and the BJO is only my second overseas competition," said the Bukit Jalil Sports School student.
Kreethi, who trains under Kenny Foo, won the National Under-15 title last year. He finished fifth in the Asian Junior Championships in Dalian, China, in August, and in the recent REDtone Junior International Championships in Kuala Lumpur, he finished second to South Korean Ryu Jeon Guk.