Coachless Jinoreeka defies odds, wins Asian Junior Squash crown
The second seed stormed to the girls' Under-15 crown on Saturday, beating India's unseeded Saanvi Kalanki 11-4, 11-6, 12-10 in Gimcheon.
It marks her second Asian Junior triumph, following her Under-13 win in Dalian two years ago — both achieved without formal coaching support at home.
"I'm happy to win in straight games, especially in my first meeting against Saanvi," said Jinoreeka, a Form Three student at Methodist Girls School in Ipoh.
With no squash coach currently based in Perak, Jinoreeka trains by following a programme designed by Egypt's Omar Aiz.
Her father, R. Manivannan, revealed the family spent RM30,000 for a two-week training stint in Cairo in January.
"She worked with Omar in Cairo, and since then, she's been following his programme on her own," said Manivannan.
"We hope this win will inspire my daughter to achieve greater heights in the sport."
Jinoreeka will now compete in the Under-17 category at next week's Penang Junior Open.
Meanwhile, Low Wa Sern capped off his junior career in style by claiming the boys' Under-19 title.
The second seed, based at Trinity College in Connecticut, outlasted top seed and home favourite Na Jooyoung 11-8, 11-6, 4-11, 13-15, 11-5 — repeating his 2023 Under-17 final win over the same opponent in Dalian.
"This is a special win — my last as a junior," said Wa Sern.
"All my hard work over the past eight months in the US has paid off. We were both physically drained in the decider, but I stayed focused and fought for every point."
Wa Sern will now prepare for the World Junior Championships in Cairo from July 21-26.
However, it wasn't all good news for Malaysia.
Top seed M. Nickhileswar failed to retain his boys' Under-17 title, going down 11-5, 11-8, 11-3 to India's third seed Aryaveer Dewan in a one-sided final.
In the girls' Under-17 category, second seed Harleein Tan was denied by top seed Helen Tang of Hong Kong, losing 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7 in a tightly contested four-game final.
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