Muhd Shavez Cheema (R) and
Abang Muhammad Huzairie
Abang Ali posing for a
photo. Muhd Shavez became
the first local to reach
the second round of the
Petaling Jaya Squash Open
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Picture: Courtesy of Muhd Shavez
Cheema
Muhd Shavez Cheema has become the first Bruneian to reach the second round of the Petaling Jaya Squash Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Muhd Shavez was the Sultanate's best player at the October 5-9 tournament after finishing in the second round of the Division 3 category.
Abang Muhammad Huzairie Abang Ali, who competed in Division 2, was ousted in the first round to end Brunei's involvement in the tournament.
Muhd Shavez achieved his target of reaching the second round of the tournament after defeating Ahmed Hamez 3-0 in the first round.
He then bowed out of the competition after losing 3-0 to Dheez in the second round.
Abang Muhammad Huzairie, meanwhile, lost 3-0 to Brandon Leong in the opening round of the Division 2 event.
Muhd Shavez told The Brunei Times yesterday that he was happy to have achieved his target of reaching the second round of the tournament after failing to get past the first round in the previous edition of the tournament last year.
"I'm very happy to have reached the second round and the result motivates me to carry on playing," said Muhd Shavez.
"In fact, I am the first Bruneian to be able to go past the first round in the division - so it is a very good achievement for me.
"I hope that I will be able to join more tournaments in the future.
"As for Abang Muhammad Huzairie, it was a very close match and he only lost by one to two points in each of the three sets.
"It was a great experiences for us to be among the professionals in the tournament," he added.
Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Iran are among the countries that participating in the tournament.
Abang Muhammad Huzairie came into the tournament after winning silver in the men's open category of the Sarawak Squash Circuit in Miri last month.
He lost 3-0 to compatriot Hj Mohd Sufri Hj Abdul Hamid in an-all Bruneian final at the Squash Academy in Pei Lin Middle School.
Muhd Shavez, meanwhile, finished sixth in the 16-player tournament.
Abang Muhammad Huzairie and Muhd Shavez are also members of local squash team Young Lions, which recently won the inaugural Brunei Squash League in May.
They finished the league with 135 points alongside team-mates Mohsin Khan and Muhd Kamaluddin AbuBakar. Their senior team, Bru Lions, were second on 130 points.
