KUALA LUMPUR: Sukma debutants Harith Danial and Natalie Sim on Today (Sept 20) outperformed their seniors to win the squash mixed doubles category at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil here.
Despite last minute preparations, the duo rose to the challenge against Sarawak’s Nathan Kueh and Ma Si Yi by 2-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-5).
“This is our first Sukma and we are very happy with our performance,” they said after their match.
Harith noted that the pair had only a week’s time to prepare and train together before playing in the Sukma Games.
“Our preparation was actually last minute because Natalie (Sim) is studying in the US and she only came back last week.
“We only had a few training sessions for Sukma but I’m glad we pulled through,” said Harith.
He added that Sim has been his partner for the past three years but seldom trained together in recent times due to the pandemic.
“We found our rhythm together as we still have that chemistry with each other,” he added.
On Monday (Sept 19), Harith and Sim booked their final ticket after they beat Selangor, trailing the game 2-0.
In the other semifinal, Kueh and Si Yi won against Negeri Sembilan, resulting in a 2-0 match.
Sim and Si Yi will be playing in the women’s doubles category tomorrow (Sept 21).
Also present during the match was Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian and Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu.
