KUALA LUMPUR: Winning the recent Asian girls' Under-19 title has boosted U. Thanussa's confidence at the World Junior Squash Championships (WJSC) which begin tomorrow in Houston, United States.
At last year's edition, the Melaka player reached the third round in the individual event before losing to fifth seed Caroline Fouts of England. But she did well to help Malaysia win the team silver.
Thanussa said: "Winning the Asian Under-19 title (in Islamabad, Pakistan) has definitely boosted my confidence.
''My primary goal is to go beyond the quarter-finals.
"In the team event, we won a silver medal in Melbourne last year. This time, our team is well prepared and I believe we have a strong chance of securing a top position again," said Thanussa, who received a first round bye, and will face Anabel Romero Gemmell of New Zealand or Camillia Hendy of Norway in the second round.
Malaysia's other female players in the WJSC are Whitney Isabelle Wilson, Doyce Lee, Anrie Goh, Harleein Tan and V. Haneesha.
The boys' team consist of Harith Danial Jefri, Low Wa Sern, M. Nickhileswar, Aqil Mirza Naim Khairil Fariz, Altamis Aqhar Sallam Sufian and Ivan Chang.