SRAM give low-rate Scottish Junior Open a miss
KUALA LUMPUR: For the first time since 1986, Malaysian squash players will not feature in the Scottish Junior Open, which begins today in Edinburgh. The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) president, Datuk A. Sani Karim, said that they decided to opt out because the tournament was of mediocre quality. “Our players won honours in the Scottish Junior Open in the absence of top players. But when they compete in the British Junior Open, they get knocked out in early rounds. It's no point basking in glory in one low-rate meet and then do badly in a more prestigious championships,'' he said. Sani added that some people were unhappy with their decision not to send players to compete in Scotland. “Our objective is to exposure players to high-level tournaments and see where they stand against the best in the world,” he said. “Furthermore, we are preparing the boys and girls for the junior world championships next year and 2009 respectively and we want them to play against the best players in the world.” Sani said that they should not be wasting money on sending players to low-rate tournaments. “It's better to train at home and use the money for other top-class tournaments. We want our players to continue improving on their game and rankings and to achieve that, they need to get the correct exposure,'' he said. Twelve players comprising seven boys and five girls will feature in the British Junior Open in Sheffield from Jan 2-6. Sani said that they were banking on Low Wee Wern, who is the third-fourth seed, to qualify for the girls' Under-19 final. “She has shown steady progress and we believe that she will be able to put up strong challenges in Sheffield,'' he said. The younger sister of Wee Wern, Wee Nee, is the third-fourth seed in the Under-17 competition. The other members of the girls’ team are Nessrine Ariffin (Under17); Zulhijjah Azan and Tan Yan Xin (Under-15). The boys are Ivan Yuen and Kamran Khan (Under-19); Ng Jo Wen (Under-17); Cheong Kah Wah (Under-15); Al Nicky Ally, Kwan Ka Jun and Raymond Silvester (Under-13).
KUALA LUMPUR: For the first time since 1986, Malaysian squash players will not feature in the Scottish Junior Open, which begins today in Edinburgh. The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) president, Datuk A. Sani Karim, said that they decided to opt out because the tournament was of mediocre quality. “Our players won honours in the Scottish Junior Open in the absence of top players. But when they compete in the British Junior Open, they get knocked out in early rounds. It's no point basking in glory in one low-rate meet and then do badly in a more prestigious championships,'' he said. Sani added that some people were unhappy with their decision not to send players to compete in Scotland. “Our objective is to exposure players to high-level tournaments and see where they stand against the best in the world,” he said. “Furthermore, we are preparing the boys and girls for the junior world championships next year and 2009 respectively and we want them to play against the best players in the world.” Sani said that they should not be wasting money on sending players to low-rate tournaments. “It's better to train at home and use the money for other top-class tournaments. We want our players to continue improving on their game and rankings and to achieve that, they need to get the correct exposure,'' he said. Twelve players comprising seven boys and five girls will feature in the British Junior Open in Sheffield from Jan 2-6. Sani said that they were banking on Low Wee Wern, who is the third-fourth seed, to qualify for the girls' Under-19 final. “She has shown steady progress and we believe that she will be able to put up strong challenges in Sheffield,'' he said. The younger sister of Wee Wern, Wee Nee, is the third-fourth seed in the Under-17 competition. The other members of the girls’ team are Nessrine Ariffin (Under17); Zulhijjah Azan and Tan Yan Xin (Under-15). The boys are Ivan Yuen and Kamran Khan (Under-19); Ng Jo Wen (Under-17); Cheong Kah Wah (Under-15); Al Nicky Ally, Kwan Ka Jun and Raymond Silvester (Under-13).