BETTER late than never - just ask national squash player Joachim Chuah.
Joachim, who will be turning 20 next month, started his sports journey as a badminton player before switching to squash at the age of nine.
It took him three years to realise that his talent and potential were not in badminton or swimming after struggling to perform in both sports.
While many would have continued in badminton given the time invested, Joachim made a different decision.
Joachim followed his father to the squash club, where his interest was sparked, and there has been no turning back since.
“I was a badminton player at first, but sadly, it didn’t work out,” said Joachim.
“I then switched to squash, grew my interest from there, and progressed to be better day by day.
“It might have taken me three years to find the right sport, but it is never too late to start anything.
“It was definitely the right decision to change my sport because I was really terrible in badminton, even after three years of trying.
“My father was a social squash player, so I trained in the club that he played in.
“I used to spend my Sundays at the badminton court in the morning, go to the swimming pool in the afternoon, and then play squash in the evening.
“I was also terrible in swimming, so I just swam for the fun of it.”
It was the perfect switch that turned Joachim’s life around when he decided to give up badminton to venture into squash.
Yesterday, Joachim of Federal Territories secured his spot in the boys’ singles final of the Malaysia Games (Sukma) after outplaying Perak’s Low Wa-Sern 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 in the last four at the Sarawak Squash Centre in Petra Jaya.
The debutant is expecting a gruelling final match today when he takes on C. Ameeshenraj of Negri Sembilan, who defeated Kelantan’s Mohd Amir Amirul Azhar 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 in another semi-final match.
“I’m really happy that I was able to get through, but it will be a very tough match tomorrow (today), especially with an 8 am start” said Joachim.
“The last time I played against Ameeshen was two weeks ago (in the National Championships) and I have to say I almost died.
“I had to fight my way back to win in five sets.
“Ameeshen is probably one of the quickest guys I’ve played in my entire life, and he is tall too, so his volleys are really sharp and strong.
“He also knows how to vary his pace, switching from fast to slow at just the right moments.
“That’s something that I’ll have to deal with and I can’t escape from so, I just hope it’ll be a good match.”
