Nafiizwan eyes place in Semifinals

National men's number two Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan had an easy passage to the next stage of the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open squash championships men's qualifying round at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil, today.

Mohd Nafiizwan who has targetted to make it to the semifinals after having qualified for the main draw twice before, beat another local player Sanjay Singh 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 in just under 45 minutes.

"I did not face much pressure because I was playing a back up squad player. But all credit to Sanjay who gave a tough fight.

"Now I have to concentrate on my next game, tomorrow. I will take it match by match," said the 26-year-old from Terengganu who meets Harinder Pal Sandhu of India.

Other local players who advanced to the next stage were Ivan Yuen and Elvinn Keo.

In the women's qualifying, Zulhijjah Azan became the only winner in the qualifying round and joins world number one Datuk Nicol David, Low Wee Wern and Delia Arnold.

The 23-year-old will however, face a mammoth task after being drawn against Natalie Grinham of Holland who is also the world number 11.

"This is the first time I have qualified for the main draw after three years of trying. So I am not going to pressure myself when facing Natalie tomorrow," said Zulhijjah.