No more botch up
Darren wiser after painful mistakes
PETALING JAYA: Junior squash player Darren Rahul Pragasam knows all too well about learning from mistakes.
The Seremban-born player failed to deliver during the Asian Junior Team Championships in February and was partially responsible as Malaysia suffered a shocking semi-final defeat to the Philippines in the men’s team event at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in August.
Both times, the 18-year-old held the lead against his opponents only to capitulate in five sets.
Darren however picked himself up after the KL Games to reach the semi-finals of the Malaysian Tour No. 10 in September. He was also a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in November.
Now Darren, ranked a career high 183 in the world, is aiming to graduate from the junior ranks on a high with a a good showing at the British Junior Open in Birmingham which starts on Wednesday.
“It has been a very tough year as I had several down moments. The Asian Junior Teams was one and the SEA Games was another major disappointment for me,” said Darren.
“But I’ve learned from it and my performances since the SEA Games were not too bad. I played in more Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour tournaments and playing the seniors really helped me a lot.
“I’m definitely feeling more confident and in better condition for the British Juniors.
“As this is my final junior year I want to do better than last year’s second round.
“Ultimately my target this year is the World Junior Championships (in India in July) so the British Juniors will be a good place to gauge where I stand against the best.”
Darren, who is seeded joint fifth-eighth in the Under-19 category, has a first-round bye before meeting Luxembourg’s Arnaud Masset.
He is expected to reach the quarter-finals and set up a meeting with second seed Victor Crouin of France.
“I’m not taking my seedings for granted. There are many good players in the top 16 and it comes down to the performance on that day,” said Darren.
“Even (Ng) Eain Yow, who was the top seed last year, lost in the early rounds so I need to stay focused right from the start.”