KUALA LUMPUR – National women’s squash player S. Sivasangari advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Singapore Squash Open by defeating Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb at the OCBC Arena today.
The reigning Asian Games gold medalist outclassed her opponent with a score of 11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 12-10 in a 53-minute match.
When interviewed after the match, the Kedahan expressed her happiness at defeating the top-seeded Egyptian after losing out in last week’s Ace Malaysia Cup.
“I think that’s the best I’ve played so far ever since I came back from last year. I think what made the difference today was just my consistency.
“I played Nour a few days ago [at the Ace Malaysia Cup], and the loss is still fresh in my mind. So today, what made the difference between me and her was consistency.
“The consistency in just trying to be more patient – sometimes I tend to rush, sometimes I make too many errors.
“That’s what happened last time, so today I tried prolonging the rallies, push her, believe in my fitness, and I think I did well in terms of placing the ball and just carrying on the rally even if she’s picking up,” she said.
The 24-year-old Sivasangari is expected to play the winner between Egypt’s Zeina Mickawy and England’s Sarah-Jane Perry, for a spot in the semifinals.
In another Malaysian women’s match, world number 28 Rachel Arnold failed to advance past the second round following her 7-11, 4-11, 6-11 defeat to Egypt’s world number 11 Salma Hany.
Meanwhile, the national men’s player Eain Yow’s campaign also ended in the second round of the competition after a 13-11, 9-11, 6-11, 2-11 defeat to Egypt’s world number 12 Youssef Soliman.
The Singapore Squash Open offers a combined prize purse of US$220,000 (RM990,000).
The tournament marks one of the first major competitions since squash was officially included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. – November 16,2023