SEHVEETRRAA CLINCHES BRITISH JUNIOR U-13 TITLE IN STYLE
12-year-old overcomes Egyptian to lift British Junior Open title
PETALING JAYA: Hats off to K. Sehveetrraa.
The 12-year-old, competing in only her first British Junior Open squash championships, clinched the girls’ Under-13 title in style after producing a dominant performance to beat Egypt’s Fayrouz Abouelkheir 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 in the final in Birmingham yesterday.
The Kedahan, who is seeded joint thirdfourth, got off to a flying start by taking the first set in just five minutes.
Sehveetrraa didn’t drop a set en route to the final and she kept up her pristine record in the tournament to seal the win after just 27 minutes.
“Fayrouz was a tough opponent. I was quite nervous during the warm-up session but I believed in myself and stayed confident all the way,” said Sehveetrraa.
“I’m really happy to win. This is probably the happiest day of my life right now.
“I want to believe that this is the start of more titles and this win has given me so much more confidence in myself.”
Sehveetrraa’s win means Malaysia recaptured the title that Jessica Keng last won in 2015.
While Sehveetrraa won the title convincingly, Aira was awarded the Under-15 title.
The 13-year-old, who had held her own against the bigger and more physical Sana Ibrahim of Egypt, lost narrowly 11-8, 11-5, 10-12, 6-11, 10-12 in 52 minutes.
But she was crowned champion following a protest by the Malaysian camp as Sana had thrown up on court whilst trailing 2-3 in the fifth set.
Under the World Squash Federation (WSF) Rule 16, if a player throws up on court, the opponent wins the match.
“We protested after the match and the panel had a meeting and then reversed the decision and awarded the title to Aira according to the rulebook,” said team coach Cheong Pak Kau.
Aifa Azman made it a triple joy for Malaysia after thumping top seed Marina Stefanoni of the US 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 for the girls’ Under-17 title.
Malaysia have one more final to contest – with national No. 2 S. Sivasangari up against Japan’s Satomi Watanabe in the girls’ Under19 final.