KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — National men’s squash player Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan is ready to take on the challenge by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin who wants athletes under the Podium Programme to bring home medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
In fact, the 31-year-old is confident that the players are capable of contributing medals for the national contingent, based on the preparations made by the squad.
At the ceremony to hand over the Jalur Gemilang to the national contingent at the Youth and Sports Ministry yesterday, Khairy in his speech said that each athlete under the Podium Programme should bring home a medal in the country’s mission to finish among the top 10 countries in the Games.
“I took the Minister’s words yesterday as a challenge, so we will be calmer when facing the competition. Of course, personally I have a dream to bring home a medal, and I’m aiming to reach the semi-finals, and from there I will go through the challenges one by one.
“The other players, both seniors and juniors, they also have the same dream to win a medal for the country, so we are all practising intensively, from morning to night, committed to all planned arrangements, such as training in gymnasiums, (going through) recovery programmes and analysing videos,” he said at press conference on the preparation of podium programme athletes ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games here, today.
Mohd Nafiizwan, who is the 12th seed in the tournament, will get a bye in the first round before facing either New Zealand player Evan Williams or Jacob Kelly from the Cayman Islands in the second round.
Mohd Nafiizwan will also partner with fellow national singles player, Ivan Yuen in the men’s doubles event, along with another men’s doubles pair Ng Eain Yow-Mohd Syafiq Kamal.
Meanwhile, Mohd Nafiizwan said the chance to win a medal in the doubles event was more open than in the individual event but it depends on the players’ preparation and mental strength on the day of the match.
Meanwhile, national squash coach Peter Genever said he was confident that Datuk Nicol David, the country’s squash queen who is currently ranked eighth in the world, would be able to earn a medal for the national contingent.
The Penang-born athlete who is third seeded in the women’s singles even also earned a “bye” in the first round and will face either Colette Sultana from Malta or Samantha Hennings from the Cayman Islands in the second.
“I believe that Nicol will deliver something for the country. She is doing her preparations very well and she has already been in the Gold Coast since March 13, undergoing her comprehensive training with her coach, Liz Irving. She is looking forward to play at the Commonwealth Games.
“Actually, we are planning for two medals if everything goes well during the competition,” said Genever.
Junior player S. Sivasangari, who was named as the 12th seed, and unseeded player Aifa Azman, were also given a boost as they both earned a bye in the first round but they will have to face Scottish players Alison Thomson and Lisa Aitken in the second round.
For the record, in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, the Malaysian squash squad won only one gold medal through Nicol in the women’s singles even while in the 2010 edition in New Delhi, Nicol won the gold in the women’s singles, and bronze medal in the mixed doubles category after pairing with Ong Beng Hee. — Bernama
