IVAN Yuen rediscovering his form and hunger is probably the best thing for the national squash team at this stage.
On Sunday, the national No 2 claimed the SRAM PSA 7 title by beating national No 4 Addeen Idrakie 11-4, 12-10, 11-6 in the final at the NSC.
It was the 31-year-old's third straight title this year and his fifth in a row on home soil.
More importantly, it was the way in which Ivan claimed victory. Unlike his SRAM PSA 5 success in September in which he laboured to the title, this time Ivan rose to the challenge thrown at him by all challengers.
In fact, Sunday's win was Ivan's eighth win in a row without dropping a game.
That certainly bodes well for the national team especially with the second stringers still a cut below him as the Asian Team Championships and World Team Championship loom next month.
"Ivan has certainly been impressive and he has shown a lot of improvement compared to before," said Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia director Major (rtd) S. Maniam.
"He has been a lot more focused the past week and playing at a very good level."
Maniam also praised women's national No 2 Rachel Arnold who did enough to hold off the in-form Aifa Azman for the women's title.
Rachel, competing in her first competition since the British Open in August, had enough in the tank to defeat Aifa 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9 in the final.
"It was not her best performance but she did well and she showed her confidence," said Maniam.
