KL Junior Open Finals

Day SIX – finals

Andrew Cross reports

Finals day at the REDtone KL Junior open for a change saw some pretty straight forward finals.

On the show court it started with second seed Chen Yu Jie beating top seed Anrie Goh in three games. In the boys under 15s Harith Danial Jefri looked to settle a little bit quicker on the glass court than top seed Tse Jat. In the opening two games Harith played the last four or five rallies better to win the opening two games. In game three Tse Jat looked to have gotten the edge but a blood injury break swung the momentum back into Harith’s favour winning two of the last three points to win the title.

In the Boys under 11 Jayden Oon won a tight five set match with Pakistani Mohammed Umair Arif to claim the title. In the Girls under 11s Harleein Tan beat Agatha Cheng in three games to claim the title. Both winners are seeded highly in next month’s British Junior Open.

Sehvetrraa Kumar put in a dominating performance against Thanussa Uthirain in the Girls under 17s final never really allowing her opponent to get in front of her. Powerful hitting from Kumar was definitely the difference.

In the boys under 17s event reigning BJO Champion Ameeshenraj Chandraran got into his free flowing of hitting to tame Hi Jia Rong. Chandaran in free flow of hitting and movement can be something so pleasant to watch.

The girls under 19s final was relatively quick lots of short sharp rallies either ending in a winner or a tin. Aira Azman wrapped up her victory over last year’s winner Jessica Keng quite comfortably in three games.

Hafiz Zhafri ended the week on a good note for the hosts when he claimed the boys under 19s title after defeating Seung Min Park in four games. Hafiz won the first game quite comfortably but it was the complete reverse in game two as the Korean completely dominated. Park led again in the third game quite comfortably before Hafiz got his game back together sneaking the third in a tie break. Park looked like he was taking us to a fifth game in game four but again Hafiz came back to win the fourth game and the title.

A huge event over 2600 matches in the last week, the organisers would like to thank everyone for coming and we wish everyone a safe trip back home.

REDtone KL Junior Open 2019 : FINALS

B9    [5/8] Jayden Wu Ze Loo 3-2 [2] Lokkhesh Wigneswaran (Mas)  11-3, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4
G9    [1] Ka Yau Chung (Hkg) 3-0 [2] Yi Xin Choo (Mas)                                 11-2, 11-2, 11-4

B11   [1] Jayden Oon (Mas) 3-2 Umair Arif Muhammad (Pak)  7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 12-10
G11   [1] Harleein Tan (Mas) 3-0 [2] Agatha Si Ching Cheng (Mas)                  11-5, 11-7, 13-11

B13   [1] Lee Hong Wong (Mas) 3-0 [5/] Kreethi Pillay Muniswaran (Mas)      11-5, 11-9, 11-4
G13   [2] Alyssa Tsz Ling Ho (Hkg) 3-0 [3/4] Whitney Isabelle Wilson (Mas)    11-7, 12-10, 11-8

B15   [3/4] Harith Danial Jefri (Mas) 3-0 [1] Jat Tse (Hkg)                                  11-7, 11-7, 11-9
G15   [2] Yu Jie Chen (Mas) 3-0 [1] Anrie Chu Yu Goh (Mas)                            11-5, 11-2, 11-3

B17   [1] Ameeshenraj Chandaran (Mas) 3-0 [2] Jia Rong Hi (Mas)              11-5, 11-7, 11-7
G17   [3/4] Sehveetrraa Kumar (Mas) 3-0 [5/8] Thanusaa Uthrian (Mas)         11-6, 11-3, 11-6

B19   [9/16] Hafiz Zhafri (Mas) 3-1 [5/8] Seung Min Park (Kor)               11-4, 4-11, 13-11, 11-7
G19   [3/4] Aira Azman (Mas) 3-0 [3/4] Jessica Jia Hui Keng (Mas)              11-8, 11-9, 11-5

Presentation Photos

Day FIVE – semi-finals

Andrew Cross reports

Day five of the REDtone KL Junior Open saw some good semi-final matches with some of the players struggling to back up after the tough quarter final matches.

In the boys under 19s semis Hafiz Zhafri beat Iranian Sepehr Etemadpour in three games to set up a final against Korean Seung Min Park after he defeated Jared Michael Nalliah in four games. Having lost the opening game Park came back to win the next three games winning the fourth on a tie break.

In the Girls under 19s Aira Azman played some brilliant squash to beat Ainaa in three games to set up a final with defending champion Jessica Keng. Jessica needed to save game balls in games one and three before sneaking through against Amirah Rusydina Rosli.

Boys under 17s second seed Hi Jia Rong surrendered a two game lead against Singaporean Edward Boon Hwi Thng. Jia Rong needed all of his experience to recover and win the fifth game 11-7. Top Seed and reigning British Junior Open Champion Ameeshenraj Chandaran needed a tie break in the opening game against Shauqi Halim but after that played well to win all three games. He will be relatively fresh for tomorrow’s final.

Sehveetrraa Kumar needed four games to see off second seed Shasmithaa Nityanandan in a hard hitting affair, both girls crunching the ball at every opportunity. Thanussa Uthrian only needed three games to see off her team mate Nur Maisara to make the under 17s final.

In the Girls Under 13s Whitney Isabelle Wilson took a very tight 3-2 win over top seed Shasmini Chandaran winning the fifth set 11-9. Isabelle will play Alyssa Tsz Ling Ho from Hong Kong after she defeated Goh Jia Xuan in five games.

All the older age group finals will be on the glass court tomorrow which should see some exciting matches.

KL Junior Open 2018 Coverage

Day FOUR – Quarter-Finals

Andrew Cross reports

Day four of the REDtone KL Junior open saw a lot of high quality quarter final matches.

Early morning matches saw the under 11s in action, Jayden Oon who is the top seed here as well as the top seed for the British Junior Open began the morning winning in four games against Muhd Haiqal Hazim Syarudin. In the lower half of the draw Pakistani Player Umair Arif Muhammed defeated Khailash Ravi Kumar in four games.

In the boys under 15s saw some spectacular see saw matches, Chris Lau recovered to win 13-11 in the fifth against Nathan Rosenzweig. Another brutal match between occurred between Harith Danial and Zac Tay, both boys diving all over the court in a truly entertaining match. Harith eventually won it 13.11 in the fifth. Japan’s Yujin Ikeda beat Low Wa- Sern in three games to make the semi-finals against Harith tomorrow.

In the Girls under 17s Nur Maisara beat top seed Vharsha Mithraa Dinesh in five games another game that was decided in the tie break 13-11. Maisara will play Thanusaa Uthrian in the semi-finals after she defeated Yasshmita Jadish Kumar in four games. In the lower half of the draw Sehveetrra Kumar will play Shasmithaa Nityanandan in the semi-final.

In the boys under 17s event top seed Ameeshenraj Chandaran beat Praviin Jeeva in three games making the semi-final without dropping a game so far. Shauqi Halim beat Lee Yi Guan in five games to continue his fine form this week into the semi-final. In the lower part of the draw both the seeded players made it through to the semi-finals. Second seed Hi Jia Rong beat Dhirren Rajaranthinam in three games to set up a match with Singaporean Edward Boon Hwi Thng after he defeated Ka Yau Cheung from Hong Kong.

The boys under 19s saw some brilliant matches, Hafiz Zhafri and Joachim Chuah played out an entertaining five games with an equal share of winners and errors. Hafiz managed to get a better start in the fifth and never looked back. Hafiz will play Iranian Sepehr Etemadpour after he defeated Ming Hock in a brutal five games. In the last game the Iranian looked the stronger player and held on for victory.

Jared Michael Nalliah had a tough four game match with Ong Jin Zher to set up a semi-final match with Korean Seung Min Park after he ended the run of South African Joshua Van Der Wath.

Day THREE

Andrew Cross reports

The REDtone KL Junior open day three saw the quarter final line up decided.

In the Girls under 17s all the seeded players made it through to the quarter final line up. Tomorrow there should be some tough matches and I am looking forward to see Thanussa Uthrian and Yashmitta Kumar.

In the Girls under 15s Anrie Goh remains on course for the title but it will be tough from here on in, tomorrow Anrie will face Kedah team mate Choo Yi Jie after she defeated 5/8 seed Ling Au Yu in three games.

Some big upsets in the boys under 19s as Hafiz Zhafri took out top seed Ishant Shah in five tough games. Hafiz won the first and the third game before being pegged back twice by Ishant. Hafiz had a big lead in the fifth game which he didn’t let go. Hafiz will play Joachim Chuah tomorrow who needed five games to see off team mate Syed Kashef Syed Kebir.

Another upset saw Wee Ming Hock beat 3/4 seed To Wai Lok in four games. Ming Hock’s opponent in the quarter final will be Iranian Sepehr Etemadpour who beat Korean Hoje Ryu in three games. Joshua Van Der Wath continued his giant killing spell beating second seed Kerwin Teh in five games.

In the boys under 17s Shauqi Halim and Lee Yi Guan will face off tomorrow in the quarter finals after both continued their fine form, Shauqi beat Singaporean Josiah Ngiap Yen Chong in four games while Yi Guan beat Ahmed Aiman in three games.

Day TWO

Andrew Cross reports

The REDtone KL Junior Open day two saw every age group in action and some upsets along the way.

In the boys u17 Shauqi Halim caused the biggest upset of the day when he beat Aiden Yunus the 3/4 seed in three games. Shauqi will play Josiah Ngiap Yen Chong from Singapore after he defeated Iranian Danial Hossien Zadeh Komsari in three games.

Also in the boys under 17s Lee Yi Guan beat 5/8 seed Caleb Lau in three very tight games, the first two games 15-13 and the third set 11-9. Another 5/8 set also lost out when Samuel Lau from Singapore was beaten in five tight games by Kugendran Magesvaran in five games.

In the boys under 19s event Iranian Sepehr Etemadpour beat Loshmaan Veerakumar in three games to cause one upset in the boys under 19 event.

In the another upset Joshua Van Der Wath from South Africa beat Korean Dong-Hyun Ji in four games. Joshua’s reward is a match with second seed Kerwin Teh in the last 16.

In the final upset of the boys under 19s Syed Kashef Syed Kebir beat Wa- Tze Low in three games and takes on teammate Joachim Chuah tomorrow.

Tomorrow the tournament moves to the last 16 matches with some juicy match ups.

Day ONE

Andrew Cross reports

Day one of the REDtone KL Junior Open got underway today with 11 of the 12 age groups commencing. Some of the larger age groups those that had 128 draws had two matches and yet in the age groups played today there were only a handful of seeds that were beaten. Matches began sharp at 8.30am and continued throughout the whole day into the Evening.

On the opening day there was only a couple of 9/16 seeds beaten which meant the majority of the tournament followed the seedings.

In the Girls under 15s Sheryl Su Yen Lee beat Shalini Murges in four games. In the Girls under 13s Sharifah Nurin Qistina Syed Ahmed Shobaudin beat American Migyu kim in four games. Having lost the opening game a tight 11-9 Sharifah stormed back to win the next three games.

In the boys under 15s Isaac George Varughese Vivek beat Japans Kento Ito in four games and in the under 11s Danial Peter Rames beat Korean Seo Youl Jun in three games.

We look forward to another day of squash tomorrow.

The ever-popular KL Junior Open takes place in the Malaysian capital from 3th to 8th December.

Preview from Andrew Cross :

The Redtone KL Junior Open is set to start next week with 860 players representing 19 countries due to participate in 12 age groups (Under 9 to Under 19). That is an increase of 122 players from 2018 and yet again this will be the biggest event in Asia for 2019 and the second biggest in the world.

The National Squash Centre and the squash Centre in Jalan Duta will once again host a full week of competitive squash. The final day will see all the matches at Bukit Jalil with a majority of the finals being played on the spectacular glass court. The additional benefit this year is that the glass court will be in use from round one for the under 19s.

Ishant Shah from Penang will be top seed for the boys under 19 title with a strong challenge expected from local and overseas players. Kerwin Teh, To Wai Lok (HK) and Jared Michal Nalliah will look to make the title challenge hard.

Local girl Ainaa Ampandi will look to win the girls under 19 title after her amazing performances during the World Juniors. Ainaa will face a tough challenge from Amirah Rusydina, Jessica Keng and Aira Azman.

Reigning British Junior Open champion Ameeshenraj Chandaran will look to add the under 17 title to his collection, facing a tough challenge from second seed Hi Jia Rong.