Fayyad going far this year

MUHD Fayyad Wajdi Hashim staked his claim in the CIMB Squash Rising Star National Junior Circuit with a resounding victory in the boys’ Under-13 final at the Hang Jebat Squash Centre in Melaka yesterday.

The 13-year-old from the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Star started as the fourth seed and downed top seed Hi Jia Rong of Sarawak, 11-7, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6 in the semi-finals to set up a final against unseeded Shamiel Haeyzad Sharulhisam of Negri Sembilan.

Fayyad started strong in the final, settling the first set 11-2, before Shamiel raised his game in the second set but still went down 1311 and the former closed accounts by nailing the third set 11-6.

“It was not as easy as it seemed, as I was trying to minimise mistakes and play a safe game before I was sure that I could beat him,” said Fayyad, who registered his first title in his second year in the under-13 category.

“I had won three legs of this series in the under-11 category two years ago, but after moving up to the under-13 category last year, I was always in the top eight but never reached the final.”

The girls’ under-13 final saw top seed, Nur Maisara Mohd Azlan Shah of Negri Sembilan taken to four sets before ousting third seed Claudia Yong from Sarawak 11-8, 3-11, 13-11, 11-3.

In the boys’ under-11 final, Sarawak’s top seed Harith Danial Jefri beat Terengganu’s 10th seed, Addin Iqwan Hilman 11-13, 11-8, 11-8, 11-3.

In the girls’ under-11 final Kedah’s Anrie Goh, also the top seed, beat second-seeded teammate Choo Yi Jie 11-4, 11-8, 11-3.

The under-9 boys’ final also saw a battle between the top two seeds, with Sabah’s Danny Gan beating Federal Territories’ Oon Jayden 11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-9, and in the girls’ final, Kedah’s Whitney Isabelle Wilson beat Melaka’s Goh Jia Xuan 11-8, 11-9, 11-5. Arnaz M. Khairul