Malaysia’s squash sensation S.Sivasangari has made history by becoming the first Malaysian player since Datuk Nicol David in 2017 to reach the quarter finals of the PSA World Championships. Her dominant straight sets victory over American world No.8 Amanda Sobhy yesterday has rebuilt Malaysia’s hopes on the global squash stage.
Ranked world No.9, Sivasangari delivered a commanding performance in the third round, defeating Amanda Sobhy with 11-8, 14-12, 11-6 in just 32 minutes. It was Sivasangari’s third win in five encounters against Amanda, building on her five game triumph in the Cincinnati Cup final earlier this year.
Speaking after the match, an emotional Sivasangari said the win was deeply meaningful.” the last two times I played against her, the score was 3-2, and I won the last one. She’s a fighter, and I’m really pleased to win in three today. That reaction (reaction after winning the point) you saw at the end showed how much it means to me”.
“I’ve never made it to the quarters at the World Championships, I barely even reach the quarters of Platinum events. So, I’m really pleased and happy with how I performed today”, she told the PSA World Tour.
Sivasangari will now face a tough opponent, world No.4 Olivia Weaver of the United States tomorrow (May 15th). Olivia Weaver secured her place in the quarter finals after defeating Egypt’s Salma Hany 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4 in 47 minutes. While Olivia leads their head to head 5-1, Sivasangari will take confidence from their most recent game, where she came out on top in the Cincinnati Cup semi-finals.
In the men’s side, it was the end of the road for Malaysian No.1 Ng Eain Yow. The world No.10 was outplayed by Egyptian top seed Mostafa Asal, who won to a 11-4,11-6,11-7 victory.
As Sivasangari gears up for her biggest challenge yet, Malaysia watches with pride and anticipation, hopefully that a new squash icon is rising to follow in the legendary footsteps of Nicol David.
Sources: NST
