“First of all, it was all about fun. As it started to become more competitive, I started liking it. It’s like life, where you challenge so many people that come your way,” said Wen Li during an interaction with DT Next. The 18-year-old has participated in a number of PSA events this year. 

She managed to make her way into the quarter-finals in the Tasmanian Open in July. Talking about how different those are (PSA) from the junior level competitions, she said, “It was a really good experience. In PSA’s, the players do not give up until the last point of the match. Every point is very crucial. I am trying to break into the top-50 but to achieve it this year would be difficult.”  

Wen Li breezed past Tanaya M Parakh in the opening round, with a scoreline of 11-0 11-4 11-0. Speaking of the performance in which she was hardly stretched, she remarked, “I wouldn’t say it was easy. I was well focussed and got every point I could. I just took all the opportunities that came my way. You never know, you drop a couple of points and it could land you in trouble.” 

The Malaysian lass believes she does not have to climb a mountain to clinch the title on September 29. “Hopefully I bag the trophy. It’s not the toughest thing to do, but I should take one match at a time. There are many other strong contenders too.” Wen Li was knocked out by Jana Shiha in the third round of the World Junior Squash Championship here. On the lessons she took from her exit, she added, “I am making sure that I don’t end the rally as soon as possible. I made a lot of mistakes and I wasn’t patient enough (at the World Juniors). I have learnt to be so now even during my tough times.”