Red-hot junior Yee Xian poised to land his first pro squash title

KUALA LUMPUR: Red-hot national junior player Siow Yee Xian is looking good to clinch his first-ever Professional Squash Association (PSA) title at the Malaysian Tour next month.

And he aims to rule the upcoming Malaysian Tour events on April 4-7 and April 23-27.

The 18-year-old’s confidence is high after he ended his junior career by winning the boys’ Under19 title at the CIMB Foundation National Junior Championship in Bukit Jalil last month.

He was also on fiery form en route to losing to fourth seed Nick Wall of England in the semi-finals of the boys’ Under-19 at the prestigious British Junior Championships in Birmingham, England.

Yee Xian was unbeaten in the Asian Junior Team Championships but his effort was not enough to carry Malaysia past India in the semi-finals in Pattaya, Thailand.

If he maintain his form, the wait for his first pro title is set to end soon.

“I feel ready and confident this time going into the two events and I’ll be targeting a title,” said Yee Xian.

“There were six Malaysian Tour events last year. I played in all six but my best achievement was only a place in the quarter-finals but I feel I can do better this time around.”

Yee Xian said he has improved under the guidance of former national head coach Peter Genever, who left the squad last month.

Genever has been replaced by Ajaz Azmat, who was previously the assistant head coach.

“I’ve been under coach Genever for only five months but he has helped me improve my game so much,” said Yee Xian.

“He has taught me to be a more tactical player and make better shot selection.

“And he has also helped me to take advantage of my height to be more efficient in my movement around the court and in doing so, save more energy.”