Squash ace Harith continues to rise
KUCHING: Rising junior squash star Harith Danial Jefri capped his promotion to the Under 13 category with a win in the CIMB Foundation 13th National Junior Championship at the National Squash Centre at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur from March 27 to 31.
The 12-year- old from Miri lived up to his top billing in the Boys U13 singles category by beating second seed Tay Jun Qian of Selangor 3- 0 (11-2, 11- 9, 11- 9) in the final.
Harith, who was U12 singles champion in last year’s edition, enjoyed a first round bye and opened his campaign with a 3- 0 win over unseeded Badi Uzzaman Sa Id Nursi Zahrin Affandi of Putrajaya in the second round.
He scored similar wins over fellow Sarawakian Alston Lim Zheng Heng in the third round, Sel angor’s Harold Rynesh Aloysious in the fourth round before disposing of joint 5/8 seed from Sabah, Tristan Andreas Muyou Angkaus 3 - 0 in the quarterfinal and another joint 5/8 seed from Sarawak Chris Lau Hui Rong 3- 0 in the semi-finals.
Chris Lau finished in third position after beating Melaka’s Veroon Heng 3-1 in the playoff while the play off for fifth to seventh positions saw another Sarawak player Connor Loi Guang Zhi, the 9/16 seed, ending up in fifth place after defeating three others.
The CIMB Foundation 13th National Junior Championship victory was Harith’s fourth triumph this year after having won the U12 titles in the MSS Miri, MSS Sarawak and two titles in the Majlis Sukan Sekolah Malaysia ( MSSM) championships.
At the recent Majlis Sukan Sekol ah Mal aysi a Squash Championship in Melaka, Harith was crowned the champion after beating Mohd Adib Zahiruddin of Melaka 3- 0 (11- 5, 11- 5, 11- 6 in the final.
Harith completed a double title after leading Lee Hong and Yung Shi Yuan to clinch the Boys U12 team title by beating Kedah 2-1 in the final.
The primary six pupil of SK Jalan Bintang, Miri, has set his sights for another good outing in the CIMB Rising Star Squash Championship in Melaka on April 25-29.