KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian juniors got off to a flying start at the Asian Junior Team Squash Championships in India today.
The tournament is making its return after the 2021 event was scrapped due to Covid-19.
And the Malaysian girls, who are defending the title they won in 2019, were in bullish mood as they swept aside South Korea 3-0 in their Group A encounter in Chennai.
With world No. 65 Aira Azman leading the line, the Malaysian girls are certainly favourites for the title and they lived up to expectations on the opening day.
Yasshmita Jadishkumar beat Lee Sojin 11-3, 11-3, 12-10 to open their account.
Whitney Isabelle Wilson then secured victory when she downed Kim Minju 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 before Aira completed the rout by beating Ain Jun 11-3, 11-3, 11-2.
Earlier, the Malaysian boys were also untroubled as they blasted past Singapore 3-0 in Group B.
Low Wa Sern opened the scoring by beating Mark Lee 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 before Shamiel Haeyzad Shahrulhisam made it 2-0 by downing Ethan Kuan 11-4, 11-7, 11-3.
Sarawakian Harith Danial, who is entrusted as the team's No. 1, wrapped it up by beating Ethan Chua 11-4, 11-5, 11-3.
National assistant head coach Andrew Cross said he is pleased with his charges' performances but made it clear there is still room for improvement.
"It was a good start for the boys, I thought they played well," said Cross.
"There are some improvements to be done but it's still a solid start for them.
"As for the girls, it was also a good start, especially as it is a completely brand new lineup (of players).
"For a team playing together for the first time, I thought their chemistry was pretty good."
Tomorrow, the boys will play two matches against Taiwan and Japan while the girls will take on Japan.