KUALA LUMPUR: Southpaw Low Wa Sern is among four Malaysians who reached the fourth round of the World Junior Squash Championships in Houston, Texas, yesterday.
The Asian Under-17 champion came back from a set down to beat India's Arihant K S 9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 in the second round.
Later in the third round, he upset joint ninth seed Juan Irisarri of Colombia 11-8, 11-13, 11-9, 12-10 to set up a date with Adham Roshdy of Egypt for a place in the quarter-finals.
Wa Sern said: "This win over Juan has really boosted my confidence."
Joint ninth seed Harith Danial Jefri also reached the fourth round after rallying from a set down to beat Justin Cheng of Hong Kong 8-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 in the second round.
In the third round, he defeated Huzaifa Ibrahim of Pakistan 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, and will face joint third seed Juan Jose Torres Lara of Colombia next.
But four Malaysian boys lost in the second round.
Asian Under-17 champion M. Nickhileswar lost 13-11, 11-8, 11-6 to America's joint ninth seed Zane Patel; Altamis Sufian lost 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 to India's Shaurya Bawa; Aqil Mirza Naim Khairil Fariz lost 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 to England's joint ninth seed Abdallah Eissa and Ivan Jia Yu Chang lost 11-8, 11-3, 11-2 to South Korea's joint ninth seed Joo Young Na.
In the girls' competition, joint ninth seed U. Thanussa warded off a strong challenge from Karolina Sramkova of Czech Republic before prevailing 11-7, 14-12, 14-16, 11-5 in the third round.
The Asian Under-19 girls' champion will face local player and joint fifth seed Riya Navani for a place in the quarter-finals.
Joint ninth seed Whitney Isabelle Wilson beat Japan's Mahiro Nishio 11-9, 5-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, and will face joint third seed Caroline Fouts of America in the fourth round.
However, two other Malaysian girls fell in the third round.
Harleein Tan lost to joint ninth seed Akari Midorikawa of Japan 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 while Anrie Goh Chu Yu lost to joint ninth seed Amelia Haworth of England 11-8, 11-2, 11-5.