As then high school senior Nathan Kueh slowly walked onto the court of the largest squash tournament in Asia, he'd never felt worse.
The night before, Kueh faced bouts of diarrhea amidst the “worst sickness [he’s] ever had," and the high-stress environment did little to help. Kueh was no stranger to the squash court, having competed at various tournaments in Malaysia. But nothing compared to the championship matches.
Despite barely making it out of bed that morning, Kueh pushed through and was crowned the winner of the 2019 Asian Junior Individual Championships
“I seldom won any tournaments. I won one or two, and I was always [in the] top three in [Malaysia], but for some reason I never got first,” Kueh said. “So I went to the Asian Junior Championships in Macau, and it was the biggest tournament in Asia… it was a big deal.”
Kueh only kept making history from there. Over the course of his next four years at Penn, Kueh became one of the most dominant players on the court, landing double-digit win streaks and breaking the all-time program wins record. But the championship win remained a turning point in Kueh's squash career.
“[The win] assured me that I could play at a high level … That was the tournament that made me want to pursue squash in college,” Kueh said.
Growing up in Malaysia, squash was an integral part of Kueh's life. He frequently watched matches from Ramy Ashour – a professional Egyptian squash player – and fell in love with the sport. Kueh began by playing alongside his older brother throughout middle and high school, someone who would become one of Kueh's biggest supporters.
“I never really had a proper coach. I’ve been working with my older brother,” Kueh said. “He was my coach, and he still is my coach.”
As Kueh neared the end of his high school career, he set his sights on playing in the United States. In Malaysia, squash is a more individual sport, where Kueh had to “rely on [himself] and his motivation” to find success. But he felt prepared to transition to the team-based style of the U.S., thanks in part to the support of coach Gilly Lane.
“When I first called Gilly … I knew that Penn was going to be my first choice,” Kueh said. “I wasn’t even recruited yet, and I hadn’t even gotten my offer letter. But he kept checking on me most days, and I feel like there’s the support that I felt.”
Though Kueh arrived at Penn alone, Lane and the team made sure he felt at home.
Senior Nick Spizziri, last year's team captain, helped Kueh improve both his confidence and his play, leading to a playstyle that was “unorthodox” and intimidating for his opponents.
“His speed, his ability to retrieve, [and] his ability to put his opponents under pressure in unique ways make him a really hard player to play against,” Lane said. “Especially for a coach, when [his] teammates are saying, ‘He's a nightmare to play,’ I love that. I'm glad he's on our team and not on the other team.”
That distinct style has helped Kueh make history.
In the 2022 season, Kueh finished 14-5, earning First Team All-Ivy and First Team CSA All-American selections. The following season, Kueh started the season on an 11-game win streak before finishing 14-2.
By January of 2025, Kueh reached 60 wins, surpassing Yash Bhargava in all-time victories. With seven more victories and a second Potter Cup victory for the program in March, Kueh concluded his time for the Quakers with a 67-9 record.
“I view my role on the team as the X-factor. Every time I feel like when I lose, the team loses, and when I win, the team wins,” Kueh said.
As Kueh stepped off the court for the last time with the Quakers, he left a lasting legacy in the program.
“He has built a family outside of his family in Malaysia: he's beloved here within the program, from the guys that are his teammates now to the guys that were his teammates in the past, that have graduated,” Lane said. “[He went] from somebody who's very quiet to more of a sociable character. [I’m] just extremely proud of him and how he's matured right over the course of these four years.”
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