Malaysian squash star S.Sivasangari has secured her place in the Qatar Classic quarter-finals after producing a strong performances in the second round.
The world No.5 and fourth seed defeated Egypt’s world No.14 Salma Hany 12-10,11-6, 11-5 in just 26 minutes.
The victory marked Sivasangari’s third win over Hany in 5 meetings. The opening game proved to be the toughest, with Sivasangari having to stay composed after losing some of her early lead.
“Salma has done a couple of comebacks against me in the past. The first game was therefore crucial,” Sivasangari said.
After taking the first game 12-10, the Malaysian found her rhythm and remained focused to comfortably take the next two game. Sivasangari will now face Belgium’s world No.9 Tinne Gilis for a place in the semi-finals.
The Malaysian holds a strong 3-1 head-to-head record against Gilis, but she is choosing to focus on her own performance rather than her opponent.
“Obviously there will be a game plan, but I’m trying to focus on my own squash at the moment,” she said.
The Qatar Classic also serves as an important competition for Sivasangari ahead of the Asian Games in Nagoya later this month, where she will be defending her title. Meanwhile, fellow Malaysians Aifa Azman and Rachel Arnold will play their second-round matches next.
World No.23 Aifa, who upset United States world No.14 Marina Stefano in the opening round will face Egypt’s world No.7 Fayrouz Aboelkheir.
World No.25 Rachel faces an even bigger challenges against Egyptian world No.3 and eight-time world champion Nour El Sherbini, with a quarter-final spot on the line.
Sources: NST
