He’s going great guns

Harith beat Asian Junior champion Yuvraj to reach final in Birmingham

PETALING JAYA: National squash junior player Harith Danial Jefri (pic) was on top of the world after storming into the boys’ Under13 final in the British Junior Open in Birmingham, England.

The 12-year-old Miri-born player pulled off a sensational win by outplaying reigning Asian Junior champion Yuvraj Wadhwani of India in straight sets 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 in the semi-finals yesterday.

A day earlier, Harith has displayed another stellar showing to defeat Egyptian top seed Taha Ibrahim 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 in the quarter-finals.

The Malaysian faces England’s second seed Abdallah Eissa for the coveted title today.

Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) director Mejar (Rtd) S. Maniam was beaming with pride and said Harith was one of the rising stars in the junior programmes.

“He is one of our young potentials and we are very happy with the way he has been training and playing,” said Maniam.

“It’s a pleasant surprise to see him defeat the top seed and Asian Junior champion, but we knew what he is capable of because he has been playing so well.”

Harith’s form has been sensational in England, as he has only dropped one set in the tournament.

He defeated England’s Joseph Billany (11-1, 11-1, 11-2) in the first round before he took out Humam Ahmed (11-9, 14-12, 11-9) of Pakistan.

In the third round, Wenqing Tang of America gave him a scare by winning the first set, but Harith came back strongly to win 8-11, 11-2, 11-3, 11-8.

The Sarawakian has been consistent last year, winning numerous Under-13 titles including the CIMB Foundation National Junior Championships, CIMB Grand Final and the REDtone Kuala Lumpur Junior Open.

It was also a great day for Malaysia in the girls’ Under-15 when Aira Azman reached the final with a superb 12-10, 12-10, 11-3 win over Torrie Malik of England in the semi-finals.