The main draw of the Crocodile Squash Challenge Cup 2005 kicks of tomorrow, with Hong Kong's top junior players jostling for a piece of the action. Qualifiers for the main draw are being held today. Hong Kong's junior stars will need to be at their best to continue in the tournament which runs until Sunday at the Hong Kong Squash Centre in Admiralty. Sanctioned by the Women's International Squash Players Association and the Professional Squash Association, the Challenge Cup is open to world-class male and female players from around the world. Hong Kong's Elise Ng - together with junior team members, Annie Au Wing-chi, Joey Chan Ho-ling, Chiu Ka-kei and Leung Shin-nga - are entered in the women's qualifying event. In the men's, juniors Chiu Ho-fai and Raymond Chiu will need to qualify from today's round of matches. Hong Kong's top junior squash players are eyeing medals at next month's World Junior Women's Championships in Herentals, Belgium. Coach Tony Choi Yuk-kwan has high expectations for Annie, Joey, Ka-kei and 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. Choi said the Challenge Cup is an important warm-up event. 'For the junior players ... the Challenge Cup is a way for them to gain valuable experience from the world's top players and to prepare for the World Junior Women's Championships,' said Choi. The 11th World Junior Women's Championships will be held July 21-31. For the first time, the Hong Kong junior team is seeded No2 out of 20 countries. 'We have never won any medal in the team event. In fact, we have only reached the top 32 so far,' said Choi. 'Our target is to win medals, in both individual and team [categories].'
