Vengeance is Yiwen’s as she overcomes Kah Yan to reach Under-19 final

PETALING JAYA: Chan Yiwen (pic) turned on the heat to reach the final of the Under-19 category at the National Junior Squash Championships.

The 17-year-old, still fresh from helping Malaysia to a third-place finish at the Asian

Team Championships, overcame training partner and second seed Ooi Kah Yan 11-2, 12-10, 11-6 in the semi-finals at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

It was sweet revenge for Yiwen as she was beaten in five sets by Kah Yan in the final of the Under-17 category last year.

The world No. 110 will fancy her chances of claiming the national junior crown when she takes on top seed Lai Wen Li in the final.

Wen Li, who also played at the Asian team meet, had to dig deep before overcoming joint third-fourth seed Ma Si Yi 9-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-2 in the other semi-final.

In the Under-17 category, Negri Sembilan’s M. Kiroshanna pulled off a fine upset by beating Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS)’ second-seeded Noor Aina Ampandi in the semi-finals.

Joint third-fourth seed Kiroshanna took her chances as she came back from a set down to win 12-14, 11-9, 11-7, 11-2.

The lanky 15-year-old takes on top seed Jessica Keng of Sabah for the title.

There were no upsets in the Under-15 group as British Junior Open winner Aira Azman cruised into the final by thrashing Negri Sembilan’s J. Yasshmita 11-9, 11-2, 11-4.

The top-seeded Aira takes on second seed Yee Xin Ying in the final.

In the boys’ Under-19 event, top seed Darren Rahul Pragasam and second seed Siow Yee Xian won their matches easily to set up a final showdown.