KUALA LUMPUR: It turned out to be so close yet so far for the young Malaysian team as they had to settle for a second place finish at the Squash World Cup in Chennai, India.
The team, spearheaded by world No 55 Aira Azman, were unable to pull off an upset over top seeds Egypt as they went down 2-1 in the final on Saturday.
But they certainly tried hard and deserved every bit of credit for taking the fight to the much fancied powerhouse nation of Egypt.
In a seven-point and best-of-five format, women's No 2 Yee Xin Ying gave Malaysia a dream start as she scored a superb 7-4, 7-5, 7-6 win over Kenzy Ayman in the first tie.
With the first string player earning two points from a win and the second string earning just one point, Malaysia would have hoped that semi-final's hero Darren Rahul Pragasam would repeat his heroics in the men's No 1 tie.
But the world No 134 was unable o repeat his feats as he fell to a 7-3, 7-6, 7-4 defeat to Aly Abou Eleinen.
With Egypt having the slight advantage, Malaysia needed Aira to beat Fayrouz Aboelkheir in order to stay in the hunt.
But despite her best efforts, the 18-year-old fell to a 7-4, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 defeat, handing the title to Egypt.
Nevertheless, the young squad can still take heart from the fact that they exceeded expectations, including beating home favourites India in the semi-finals a day earlier.
"I think the team did their best today and gave a maximum effort on court," said national coach Jess Tay.
"Although we lost 2-1, we were definitely not far off and we had our chances although Egypt played very well and deserved their win."
Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) director Major (Rtd) S. Maniam added that the young squad can certainly be proud of their achievements.
"Overall I think the team had a very good week and finishing second is something that we will cherish," said Maniam.
"Egypt certainly proved why they are the strongest squash nation with their depth in talent.
"But our players have nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, beating a very experienced India team on their own turf was certainly a highlight," added Maniam.
