Annie crowned junior champion
Annie Au Wing-chi was crowned the new girls' singles champion at the Asian Junior Squash Championships 2007 at the Hong Kong Squash Centre on Tuesday.
She won the title, beating classmate Joey Chan Ho-ling 6-9, 10-8, 9-3, 9-2 in a gripping 45-minute final.
Joey took the first set, but Annie increased the tempo to turn the game around.
'I did pretty well in the first set. Then I got tired and nervous in the second, which gave Annie the chance to speed up the game. I'm a bit disappointed. This is my last junior event,' Joey said. 'I played very well yesterday [against Malaysian Low Wee Wern]. I hope I can achieve something in the adult tournaments.'
Annie, who turns 18 tomorrow, was delighted with her victory.
'I reached my goal [in winning the championship], because this is my last Asian Junior Championship,' she said.
'It took me awhile to warm up in the first set. I wasn't used to the lighting and felt nervous in the first set. It's harder to play against a friend, because we know each other's game so well.'
Annie's next goal is to win a medal for Hong Kong in the team event.
'I am feeling the pressure. Other teams are not weak. I'm worried that I'll tire easily. The hardest team to beat will be Malaysia,' she said.
Annie is now hoping to scale new heights - a top-50 place in the world squash rankings.
Head squash coach Tony Choi Yuk-kwan believes that his girls can clinch a gold medal in the team event which started yesterday. 'Getting both gold and silver [in the girls' singles] were an added bonus. We hope to get a gold medal in the team event as well. I hope the Hong Kong boys' team can reach the top four,' he said.
In the boys' singles final, Pakistan's Farhan Mehboob beat Abdullah Mezayan of Kuwait 9-5, 9-5, 9-3 in 51 minutes.
The Hong Kong girls' team were due to meet the Philippines yesterday, while the boys took on Taipei.
