KUALA LUMPUR: In-form Aira Azman is the sole Malaysian left to shoulder expectations at the World Junior Squash Championships.
The 17-year-old overcame compatriot K. Sehveetrraa 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 in the fourth round at Nancy, France, today.
The joint third-fourth seed, who is a serious contender for the title, enjoyed a flying start as she grabbed the first game 11-6.
Sehveetrraa, however, showed she was no pushover as she fought back to take the second game.
But Aira, who won the Asian Junior Championships Under-19 title and the Tuanku Muhriz Trophy recently, stepped up her game to seal the win.
The Kedahan meets Egypt's joint fifth-eighth seed Salma Eltayeb, who downed compatriot Nardine Sameh Garas 11-4, 11-7, 11-2, in the last eight.
It will be a rematch of the Tuanku Muhriz Trophy final in July, in which Aira won.
Meanwhile, a third Malaysian girl, Yee Xin Ying was unable to rise to the occasion as she let slip a one-game advantage to lose 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 to England's Sarah Nghiem.
In the boys' competition, both Joachim Chuah and C. Ameeshenraj crashed out in the fourth round, thus ending Malaysia's challenge.
Joint fifth-eighth seed Joachim had victory in sight but couldn't push the extra mile as he went down in a thrilling five-setter 11-3, 7-11, 3-11, 11-1, 11-9 to England's Sam Osborne-Wylde.
Ameeshenraj, on the other hand, was just no match for top seed and tournament favourite Muhammad Hamza Khan of Pakistan, going down 11-8, 11-6, 11-6.
"Despite the scoreline, Aira certainly played better than she did yesterday," said national assistant head coach Andrew Cross today.
"It's definitely going to be a lot harder tomorrow against Salma. It will be a tough match where she will need to be good.
"She defeated Salma recently and that was a good win for her then.
"But tomorrow will be a new day, and she will need to be ready to get going if she hopes to get through.
"As for the boys, they both had tough matches, although Joachim had the chance to win.
"It is time for them regroup for the team event next week."
