Jessica wants to prove her worth by winning national junior title

Squash player Jessica Keng is eager to make a statement by winning the Under-17 title at the National Junior Championships today.

The 16-year-old showed calm and composure to seal her place in the final with a thrilling 16-14, 11-9, 11-3 victory over M. Kiroshanna in the semi-finals at the National Squash Centre here yesterday.

She takes on second seed Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi in the final today. Noor Ainaa took out Yee Xin Ying 12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9 in the other semi-final match.

It will be a rematch of the battle for fifth place at the prestigious British Junior Open in Birmingham, England, last month. Jessica came out on tops 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 then.

“I’m confident I can win this because I have defeated her before, and also I have been preparing for this by training with players above my age-group for the last two months,” said Jessica.

The Sabahan wants to prove her worth after she was selected to play at Asian Junior Team Championships (AJTC) but came down with high fever and rashes once she arrived in Pattaya, Thailand, last month.

She couldn’t play a match as her teammates went on to bring home the title.

“I was very disappointed and even though we won, but I really feel I don’t deserve the gold medal because I didn’t play any matches.

“During the last few stretches of training before the tournament started in Pattaya, I felt dizzy, very hot and I had rashes. But once I got back home, I was fine. I just got sick at the wrong time.”

Jessica also wants to be picked for the World Junior Squash Championships (Jul 30- Aug 4) and Girls’ World Team Championships (Aug 5-9), which will be held here.

“I want the national title even more now because I want to show that I deserved my place in the team that won the AJTC title. Also, I want to make sure I get picked for World Juniors.”