Aifa aiming to nail British Junior Under-17 title in final attempt
PETALING JAYA: An ambitious Aifa Azman has set her sights on winning a third title at the British Junior Open squash championships.
The 16-year-old Aifa is hoping to nail the girls’ Under-17 title when the competition starts in Birmingham tomorrow to add to her illustrious collection.
The talented youngster had already won the Under-13 title in 2014 and the Under-15 title in 2016.
“This is my year to win and I want to make the best of the opportunity before I move up in the age-group,” said Aifa.
Last year, misfortune struck Aifa in the Under-17 category when she lost to top English player Elise Lazarus in the quarter-finals, no thanks to a bout of sickness.
Aifa is feeling good about her chances this year after winning the Under-19 title of the KL Junior Open last month. She was also a member of the women’s gold-medal winning team at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in August.
“I had an ankle injury after the SEA Games and I took a little time out after the Malaysian Open in October to recover,” said Aifa.
“Winning the KL Juniors was a good tuneup for me and I’m well prepared for the British Juniors.”
She is aware of the pitfalls ahead of her. “It’s not easy as Marina (Stefanoni) of the United States is the favourite. She also made the top eight at the World Junior Championships last year,” said Aifa.
“There are also several Egyptians, such as Jana Shiha, who are tough opponents too. But I’ve beaten them before and I’m confident.”
Aifa is seeded second and enjoys a firstround bye. She is expected to cruise into the quarter-finals where joint fifth-eighth seed Alice Green of England may await.
If she gets to the semi-finals, she is likely to face Jana who is seeded joint third-fourth.
Besides Aifa, the other Malaysians in the fray are Jessica Keng, M. Kiroshanna and Amirah Rusydina Rosli. All three face a daunting task to reach at least the quarter-finals.