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SCMP Reporter

Hong Kong's top junior squash players are eyeing  medals at next month's World Junior Women's Individual Championships in Herentals, Belgium.

Coach Tony Choi Yuk-kwan has high expectations of Annie Au Wing-chi, Joey Chan Ho-ling, Chiu Ka-kei and Leung Shin-nga, who  won the team event at the Asian Junior Championships in India three months ago. Annie, a student at Jockey Club Ti-I College, also won a silver medal in the individual event.

Seeded fifth, Annie will receive a first-round bye, along with Ka-kei, the ninth seed in the 128-strong field.

Joey, seeded 17th, will face Kaitlin Sennatt of the United States in the first round, while Shin-nga will play Esther Jongerden of Holland.

'We have never won any medal in the team event. In fact, we have only reached the top 32 so far. Our target is to win medals, both individual and team,' said Choi.

Hong Kong's top player, Rebecca Chiu Wing-yin, won a bronze in the singles competition in 1997.

'The team is working their way up to peak form. The forthcoming Crocodile Squash Challenge Cup will be an ideal warm-up for them,' Choi said.

All four junior stars will have to play in the qualifying rounds of the Challenge Cup  which will be held from July 12-17 at the Hong Kong Squash Centre in Admiralty.

Rebecca Chiu, ranked 18th in the world, is seeded second and will face Japan's Mami Nishio in the first round of the main draw.

World number 13, Shelley Kitchen of New Zealand, is seeded first.

In the men's main draw, Hong Kong's top player Wong Wai-hang, the world number 68, is the top seed.

Roger Ngan Lun-cheung, Dick Lau, Chiu Ho-fai, Raymond Chiu, Lau Siu-na, Angelo Wong, Christina Mak Pui-hin and Elise Ng are the other locals who will also be vying for ranking points at the Challenge Cup.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong will become the first city to host both the men's and women's World Open from November 27-December 4. The world's top players are expected to compete at the event, with prize money worth $2 million up for grabs.

As in the women's World Open two years ago, all the qualifiers and early rounds will be held at the Hong Kong Squash Centre, while the semi-finals and final will be played at the four-sided glass court outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre along Tsim Sha Tsui's waterfront.



HK's junior squash stars eye medals