AN excited national No 1 Ng Eain Yow looks forward to his first Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour competition in months.
The 22-year-old last competed in the Canary Wharf Classic in London back in March before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the PSA tour for a lengthy period.
The World No 30, however, made the decision to leave Malaysia and return to his training base in Bristol earlier this month.
And the KL lad is ready to get back into action at the Qatar Classic which gets underway in Doha tomorrow.
"It is good to have been back in Bristol and the situation is pretty under control with players all adhering to the standard operating procedure (SOP)," said Eain Yow who arrived in Doha yesterday.
"Training here has been well too and it's really good to be able to work closely with my coach Hadrian (Stiff) once again.
"It's also really beneficial to be able to have sessions with World No 1 Mohamed (El Shorbagy) and this also prepared me well for the event in Qatar.
"I'm really excited to be competing again after such a long break but I think it's important for me to contain my excitement, keep myself calm and just give my best squash.
"It helps that the PSA and local organisers have done a great job at keeping us safe in the tournament.
"There are a lot of procedures that we have to follow, so I do feel confident and safe enough to step out there and compete."
Eain Yow, seeded joint 17th-32nd, takes on World No 60 Karim El Hammamy of Egypt in the first round with a win likely to pit him against World No 23 Declan James of England.
"I'm not really thinking about who I am playing as I go into my first match. I'll do my research and have a game plan ready for whoever comes up.
"At the end of the day, it's more important for me to be focused on playing some great squash and be confident in my own game."
Meanwhile the Qatar meet has received some late withdrawals with a trio of Egyptians: World No 3 Karim Abdel Gawad, World No 17 Zahed Salem and World No 18 Mostafa Asal pulling out.