It’s long overdue
Eain Yow aims to end 18-year world junior title drought
PETALING JAYA: The last time a Malaysian youngster won the boys’ singles title at the World Junior Squash Championships was in 1998 – the year Ng Eain Yow was born.
It was the now-retired Ong Beng Hee who became the first and only Malaysian to win the title in Princeton, the United States.
And now Eain Yow intends to end Malaysia’s 18-year wait for the boys’ singles title, especially after coming so close last year when he lost to eventual champion Diego Elias of Peru in the semi-finals.
World No. 144 Eain Yow has made good progress, having won his first Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour title in April and bagging the Sukma individual gold medal in Sarawak last month.
“Winning the title is my aim. I’ve been working towards it for a whole year now ... ever since the semi-final loss to Diego,” said Eain Yow, a three-time British Junior Open winner.
“I can say that I’m in the best shape for the world juniors after a good Sukma campaign.
“Of course the draw is tough when it comes to a tournament this big ... and there’s pressure as well.
“But it’s mostly about me putting pressure on myself to deliver because everyone else just wants me to enjoy my last world junior campaign.”
The second-seeded KL boy has a first-round bye and will face either homester Mateusz Osojca or New Zealand’s Finn Trimble in the next round.
His first real challenge should come in the fourth round where he is drawn to meet Egypt’s Ziad Sakr. Another Egyptian, Karim Magdy, is a possible quarter-final opponent.
Egypt’s Saadeldin Abouaish, who defeated Eain Yow in the semi-finals of the British Junior Open this year, is the tournament’s top seed.
The other Malaysian boys in the fray are Mohd Farez Izwan, Ong Sai Hung and Marcus Sim.
All three are unseeded and face seeded opponents in the early rounds.
In the girls’ event, Malaysia are represented by S. Sivasangari, Andrea Lee, Zoe Foo and Aifa Azman.
They will be out to win the title which eight-time world champion Nicol David had won twice – in 1999 and 2001.