Darren out to defy the odds by winning medal in world juniors
KUALA LUMPUR: The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) want Darren Rahul Pragasam to finish in the top eight in the boys’ individual of the World Junior Squash Championships in Chennai, India from July 18-29.
But the Negri Sembilan player wants to defy the odds and win a medal.
He made his debut in the World Junior Championships in Tauranga, New Zealand last year where he finished 14th in the individual event.
Darren, who will turn 19 on August 27, said this would be his second and last World Junior Championships and he wants to finish it with a medal.
“No doubt it will be a real tough challenge to win a medal as I will be up against strong opponents especially from Egypt. But I will train much harder in training to achieve my goal.
“I have been playing in PSA (Professional Squash Association) tournaments to improve my game and also get the confidence for the World Junior championships,” said Darren.
Darren featured in the PSA tournament - NT Open in Darwin, Australia two weeks ago and he did well to reach the semi-finals before losing to second seed Rhys Dowling of Australia.
Marwan Tarek of Egypt will defend his boys’ individual title won in New Zealand last year.
Darren will lead the Malaysian team which include Siow Yee Xian, Daniel Nurhaqiem, Duncan Lee, Hafiz Zhafri and Amir Amirul.
Darren said the Malaysian team have a good chance of finishing in the top eight as they have reliable and good teammates to put up a strong challenge in the meet.
“Players like Yee Xian, Daniel and Duncan have been playing well in tournaments and are ready to give the other top teams a run for their money,” said Darren.
Aifa Azman, the reigning British Junior Under-17 champion, and her sister Aira will feature in the girls’ individual event.
The other Malaysian female players to feature in the individual event are Ooi Ka Yan, Lai Wen Li, Chan Yiwen and Jessica Keng.