KOTA KINABALU: Sabah squash princess, Jessica Keng Jia Hui took another silverware home after achieving her latest success at the second leg of the 9th CIMB Foundation National junior Circuit in Ipoh, Perak on Sunday.
The first seeded Sabahan did not drop any set throughout the weekend en route to her Girls' Under-19 title by defeating Kiroshanna Manoharan, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 in the final match.
When contacted, Jessica was relieved to win yet another premier crown this year to increase her Girls' Under-17 national junior ranking points.
"It is always a blessing to win any tournament and this one is not an exception, a big thank you to my coaches, family and friends who keep on supporting me.
"I might have a few more tournaments to compete in before representing Sabah for the Sukma Games in Perak, next month where I prioritise on fitness as that aspect is the most important," she said.
The 16-year-old will be among the state's squash medal hopefuls during the Games and she stated her desire to contribute some medals for Sabah later on.
"It will be one of the complete years in my career if I manage to win a medal for Sabah during the Sukma Games and I will carefully prepare myself, physically and mentally for the Games in the coming weeks,” she added.
Another state Sukma Games representative, Nicholas Tan Zheng Xin finished eighth in the Boys'" Under-19 category as the other Sabahan to finish within the top eight in the tournament.
The fifth seeded Nicholas was defeated, 8-11,9-11,8-11 by Ong Jin Zher, seeded seventh in the seventh/eighth play-off match.
The State contingent sent a total of five junior players to the tournament where Adam Mohd Amrie Goh finished 14th in the Boys' Under-17, Muhammad Akid Izz Zulkifli finished 15th in the Boys' Under-15 and lastly, Rebecca Lai Hung Ching finished 20th in the Girls’ Under-17.
