Aifa eyes another memorable Aussie outing

PETALING JAYA: Rising starlet Aifa Azman (pic) has been one of the brightest sparks in the Malaysian squash scene.

And the ambitious 16-year-old is ready to step up to the plate.

Aifa, who has climbed to a career high No. 62 in the world, is looking to make a mark when she competes in the US$ 10,000 (RM39,400) NT Open in Darwin, Australia, tomorrow.

She has been making a smooth transition on the professional stage since claiming her third British Junior Open title in January.

She grabbed four Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour titles and that impressive form also earned Aifa a rare chance to compete at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games last month.

She made the third round in women’s singles before bowing out in four sets to Wales’ world No. 12 Tesni Evans.

“I’m really looking forward to playing in the NT Open because this is my first PSA10 event. The four titles I won were only PSA5 meets,” said Aifa.

“Besides, I’m also looking forward to another good run in Australia. The Commonwealth Games certainly gave me a taste of what it felt to take on higher level players.

“Having taken Tesni to four sets in Gold Coast, I believe I’m well prepared for this challenge in Darwin.

“Of course, I would love to win my first PSA10 event as well. But my draw is not exactly easy so I’m looking to get into the semi-finals first.”

Aifa, who is seeded fifth, takes on local wildcard Jessica Osborne in the first round and should progress to meet second seed Satomi Watanabe of Japan in the quarter-finals.

Besides Aifa, the other Malaysian in the fray is Lai Wen Li. The world No. 91 takes on fourth seed Sarah Cardwell of Australia in the first round.

Meanwhile, national No. 5 Mohd Addeen Idrakie just fell short in the final of the US$10,000 ACT Open in Canberra on Sunday.

The world No. 104 upset the odds in making the final but found top seed Rex Hedrick of Australia too strong as he lost 6-11, 5-11, 4-11.