5 days ago
Fever-stricken Jinoreeka Ning wins U-17 title in Hong Kong
KUALA LUMPUR: Fever-stricken and without a coach, battle-hardened Jinoreeka Ning still fought her way to the girls' Under-17 title at the Hong Kong Junior Open on Sunday.
The 15-year-old from Perak, who had been on medication for three consecutive days, summoned enough grit to topple Hong Kong's top seed Elaine Chung 11-8, 6-11, 11-2, 8-11, 12-10 in a tough 45-minute final.
It was third seed Jinoreeka's third title in just two months.
Last month, she captured the Under-15 crown at the Asian Junior Championships in South Korea before winning the Under-17 title at the Penang Junior Open.
Sunday's triumph was also her third Hong Kong Junior Open title — having won the Under-13 in 2022 and the Under-15 last year.
A Form Three student at Methodist Girls' School, Jinoreeka does not train under a full-time coach in Perak but follows a programme set by Egyptian coach Omar Aziz.
Her parents, R. Manivannan and Toh Chee Kuan, have spent over RM250,000 to support the squash career of their only child.
Remarkably, Jinoreeka — who took up squash at the age of eight — has now won 22 junior titles without a full-time coach.
"I've had a fever since Friday and have been taking medication for the past three days," said Jinoreeka.
"It was really tough to play in the final as I was ill, but I never gave up and kept fighting for every ball.
"Elaine is more experienced than me, having played in the World Junior Open in Cairo last month. The deciding fifth game was very closely fought, but I managed to win the crucial points to claim my third title of the year.
"I don't have a coach here, so I follow the programme given by coach Omar. All my hard work, with the help of my dad, has paid off handsomely. It feels great to win the Under-17 title even though I'm only 15."
Five Malaysians reached their respective finals in Hong Kong, but Jinoreeka was the only one to return home with a title.
In the boys' Under-11 final, Rizq Amzar Shahril lost 11-2, 6-11, 11-4, 11-1 to Hong Kong's Simon Mei.
Kayvern Arthur was beaten 11-1, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11 by Liu Yuan Xi of China in the boys' Under-13 division, while Maisarah Khairul Nizam went down 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-7 to Hong Kong's Yang Sihan in the girls' Under-13 final.
In the boys' Under-15 decider, Armann Merzha Ashraff fell 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 to Hong Kong's Yuen Tsz Long.
