Friday March 22, 2013
Wildcard entrant Elvinn aims for a spot in the main draw
By ASHREENA PILLAI
PETALING JAYA: When an opportunity comes your way, you have to grab it with both hands.
And that’s exactly what former national player Elvinn Keo plans to do after receiving a wildcard entry into the qualifying round of the CIMB KL Open squash championships from March 26-31.
Elvinn, who was dropped from the Squash Racquets Association Malaysia (SRAM)’s training programme in July last year, was initially surprised to receive the wildcard but now hopes to make use of it to get into the main draw of the competition.
The 25-year-old who currently trains part-time on his own at the Royal Selangor Club made the semi-finals of the NSC-SRAM Series No. 1 tournament before losing to eventual champion Ivan Yuen 11-13, 11-13, 11-8, 11-3, 11-6 last Thursday.
“I had a good result last week and hopefully that will put me in good stead for the qualifiers,” said Elvinn.
“I’m not expecting much but I hope to at least make it through to the first round of the main draw,” added Elvinn, who will know whom he faces once the draw is released over the weekend.
However, having trained only three times a week, the Penang-born player concedes that it’ll be a tough match regardless of who he meets in the qualifiers. And weighing heavily on his mind is his match fitness.
“I’ve been training on my own for the past year at the Club. It’s different, of course, I just play socially with the veterans and they tell me a thing or two about the game. But its not the high intensity training as I don’t get to spar with other players especially for a competition like the KL Open,” he said.
“Match fitness is definitely something I’m looking into. Whoever I draw in the first round, I’m going to expect a tough encounter,” added the 2007 Korat Sea Games gold medallist.
Besides Elvinn, four other Malaysians, national No. 2 Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan as well as youngsters Sanjay Singh Chal and Mohd Addeen Idrakie will also be competing in the qualifiers.
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