Aifa aiming for top four finish at World Junior meet

KUALA LUMPUR: Aifa Azman will be featuring for the third consecutive time in the World Junior Squash Championships in Chennai, India, from July 18-29.

Aifa, who won the British Junior Open Under-17 title in Birmingham in January, is eyeing a top-four finish in the girls’ individual event in Chennai.

Aifa said that she is in the right frame of mind for the World Junior meet after a good outing in the competitions this year.

“I did well to win the British Junior Open Under-17 title and also was happy to win four PSA titles in the Malaysian Tour Squash Circuits this year.

“I am quite pleased with my performance in the competitions and I want to do well in my third World Junior meet in July. I have set a target of finishing in the top four in Chennai,” said the 17-year-old.

Aifa made her debut in the World Junior Championships in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, in 2016 and lost in the second round.

Last year she lost in the fourth round in Tauranga, New Zealand, but this year, she hopes to reach the semi-finals.

Aifa added that she is expected to face a strong challenge from two players – world No. 20 Hania El Hammamy and world No. 2 Rowan Reda Araby.

Last year in the final, Rowan beat Hania in straight sets to win the girls’ individual title.

Nicol David is the only Malaysian player to have won the world junior title. She won it in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1999 and she retained the title two years later in Penang.