KUALA LUMPUR – Duncan Lee has thrown his hat into the ring for a place in the SEA Games squad after clinching his maiden National Squash Championships title today.
The Sabah-born 23-year-old capped a dream run at the Nicol David International Squash Centre in Penang by outclassing top seed Sanjay Jeeva 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 in the men’s singles final.
What made the victory all the more remarkable was that Duncan is not part of the elite Podium Programme – yet he overcame several programme players en route to the crown.
“This is an incredible moment for me. It’s my first national title, and I’m so glad I beat all the programme players,” said Duncan.
“Hopefully, I can make the SEA Games squad. That’s my target this year, along with breaking into the world’s top 100.”
The win also extended Duncan’s purple patch, having bagged the SEA Cup in Bangkok last month. His back-to-back triumphs have strengthened his claim for inclusion in the Malaysian team bound for the Bangkok SEA Games in December.
Despite the straight-game scoreline, Duncan admitted the final was no walk in the park.
“I stuck to my game plan, moved him corner to corner, and I’m just happy I could pull it off in three sets,” he said.
Duncan will now turn his attention to the Tuanku Muhriz PSA Challenger later this month (August 27-31), determined to ride his momentum.
“I want to keep training hard and not take things lightly just because I’ve won this title,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles final, Aira Azman successfully defended her crown after edging her older sister Aifa in a five-game thriller. In what was a repeat of last year’s title decider, Aira prevailed 8-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8. — August 17, 2025