KUALA PILAH, Oct 4 —The appointment of former top national squash player and 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan as a national squash coach is a timely boost for the sport in the country.

Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) president Gerard Monteiro said his skills and experience as a national player could be passed on to younger players and empower squash.

"The experience and skills of Nafiizwan would be of great help to the present batch of players. This is strategic for country as we have a good player coming back to help the younger players, " he told reporters after attending the Negeri Sembilan level 2020 World Squash Day celebration here today.

The Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir and Negeri Sembilan Squash Association (PSNS) president, Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin Tuanku Muhriz were present at the event.

In this regard, Mohd Nafiizwan said his primary mission as coach is to bring national squash players to a higher level at junior and senior squash tournaments.

" My target is to bring slight changes in terms of professionalism for athletes as the attitude is a prerequisite for the team to attain success. If players did not adhere to such specific criteria, it would be difficult to reach world standard level,” he said.

The media had earlier reported Mohd Nafiizwan finally accepted the offer to take on the challenge as national squash coach after turning it down last year.

Meanwhile, Tunku Zain said the 2020 World Squash Day celebration was held for the first time in the state to promote the sport and attract more youths to the game to unearth young players.

A total of 10 participants from PSNS who have participated at national and international programmes including Under-11 British Junior Open Squash 2020 champion, Harleein Tan and Under-15 British Junior Open Squash 2019 champion, C Ameeshenraj. — Bernama