Ivan jolted by first-round defeat
KUALA LUMPUR: Eighth seed Ivan Yuen run-up to the World Junior Championships in Zurich at the end of the month took a jolt in the first round of the NSC Satellite No. 4 tournament at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday. Ivan, who is ranked 175th in the world, crashed to a 8-11, 14-16, 4-11 defeat in 44 minutes by 303th ranked Jose Facchini of Italy in 44 minutes. The 18-year-old, who was the runners-up in the Asian Juniors in Busan last month, said that it was a blow to lose to a player ranked 128 rungs below him. “It was not my day. I made many silly mistakes. I have to train much harder for world junior meet,” said Ivan. Facchini will play against third seed Steve Finitsis of Australia in the quarter-finals today. Fifth seed Mohd Asyraf Azan, meanwhile, reached the quarter-finals with a walkover from team-mate Kamran Khan, who is down with an ankle injury. Asyraf will play against second seed Mike Corren of Australia for a place in the semi-finals. Seventh seed Elvinn Keo also reached the last eight with a hard fought 11-6, 8-11, 11-3, 11-6 win over compatriot Anson Kwong. He will play against Wong Wai Hang of Hong Kong today.
KUALA LUMPUR: Eighth seed Ivan Yuen run-up to the World Junior Championships in Zurich at the end of the month took a jolt in the first round of the NSC Satellite No. 4 tournament at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday. Ivan, who is ranked 175th in the world, crashed to a 8-11, 14-16, 4-11 defeat in 44 minutes by 303th ranked Jose Facchini of Italy in 44 minutes. The 18-year-old, who was the runners-up in the Asian Juniors in Busan last month, said that it was a blow to lose to a player ranked 128 rungs below him. “It was not my day. I made many silly mistakes. I have to train much harder for world junior meet,” said Ivan. Facchini will play against third seed Steve Finitsis of Australia in the quarter-finals today. Fifth seed Mohd Asyraf Azan, meanwhile, reached the quarter-finals with a walkover from team-mate Kamran Khan, who is down with an ankle injury. Asyraf will play against second seed Mike Corren of Australia for a place in the semi-finals. Seventh seed Elvinn Keo also reached the last eight with a hard fought 11-6, 8-11, 11-3, 11-6 win over compatriot Anson Kwong. He will play against Wong Wai Hang of Hong Kong today.