Nafiizwan: Eain Yow must go abroad to improve his skills

KUALA LUMPUR: The time has come for Ng Eain Yow to step up to the plate.

National squash veteran Nafiizwan Adnan, who hung up his racquet on Friday, believes Eain Yow is more than ready to shoulder the burden.

And the 21-year-old and world No. 36 showed his potential when he stunned defending champion and world No. 23 Max Lee of Hong Kong in the quarter-finals of the Asian Individual Championships at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil on Friday.

“He played extremely well. I never thought he could achieve what he has done since becoming the junior world champion in 2016,” said Nafiizwan.

“At the Asian Games in Indonesia last year, he rose to the occasion to defeat Leo Au (of Hong Kong) in the final and helped us win the team gold. That was an amazing feat.

“I strongly believe he can go far. He has that fire in the belly to make a name for himself in the sport.”

The youngster has been making waves on the international scene over the last year with impressive displays against the world’s top players.

Eain Yow was also hailed as a future world champion by world No. 2 and former world champion Mohamed El Shorbagy after the Egyptian was given a scare by the Malaysian at the Black Ball Open in Cairo last year.

Nafiizwan added that Eain Yow must move abroad to take his game to a higher level.

“If you want to go far, you must be based overseas, just like Nicol David. If he stays here his game will not improve much, the most he can achieve is a spot in the top 20.”

Nafiizwan, who wanted to quit last year, decided to bow out at the Asian Individual as it was held in Malaysia.

The Terengganu lad, who won the title in 2011, played his last match against world No. 10 Saurav Ghosal of India in the quarter-final defeat on Friday.

“I gave my 100 per cent but sometimes it’s just not meant to be, credit to Saurav who played really well and I wish him all the best.

“Now I just want to take a break and rest for two months before doing something that has got to do with squash or some other sports. We’ll see.”