Raising an Olympian is expensive, and not every child will possess the kind of talent that the international-level competition demands.

National squash player Sivasangari Subramaniam’s dream of bringing back a gold medal was shattered at the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup 2022 tournament in Ohio, USA.

In a gripping semi-final match last Saturday, the young lass lost 11-4, 3-11, 11-6, 16-18, 9-11 against world No. 11 Olivia Fiechter of the United States. She got off to a fiery start by pulling off an 11-4 victory in the first set but Fiechter, equally determined, bounced back to take the second set with an 11-3 win.

Undeterred by the fightback, Sivasangari kept her focus to get back into the driving seat with a 11-6 win but she missed out on a chance to reach the final after losing narrowly in the following two sets. The world No. 26 player missed the opportunity to book her place in the final match when she lost 16-18 in the fourth set before going down 9-11 in the decider.

In 2018, Sivasangari made history by becoming the youngest national champion at 19. The 23-year-old who made the move inside the top 30 in the World Rankings for the first time in the summer of 2021 may have not reached her goals at the moment but we surely believe in her dedication and hardwork as one day it’s all going to be paid off.

Remember that embracing both our achievements and failures in a constructive and modest manner will enhance our nation. We can only improve ourselves by learning from our failures.

We look forward to cheering her on at future tournaments. Keep fighting!