MALAYSIA SQUASH CUP: FINAL EGYPTIAN HURDLES AWAIT SIVASANGARI, EAIN YOW

PETALING JAYA, Nov 16 (Bernama) -- National squash players S. Sivasangari and Ng Eain Yow will have to get past Egyptian obstacles for a taste of home glory after checking into the women's and men's finals at the 2024 Malaysia Squash Cup today.

Women’s top seed Sivasangari, 25, cruised into the final with a dominant 11-3, 11-8, 11-6 victory over Scotland's Georgia Adderley in just 31 minutes, fuelled by the strong local support in the semi-finals at The Curve Mall today.

“I played really well today compared to two weeks ago in China. I think I had a better game plan, executed it well, and I am just happy with how I performed,” said Sivasangari, who defeated Adderley in their first encounter at the China Open quarter-finals.

World number nine Sivasangari, who is gunning for her second title on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour this season after winning the London Squash Classic in April, will face Egyptian world number 10 Amina Orfi in tomorrow's title showdown.

Second seed Amina ended hopes of an all-Malaysian final by defeating Rachel Arnold 12-10, 11-9, 11-6 in a 45-minute battle in the other semi-final.

Sivasangari, who lost to Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb in the semi-finals of the inaugural edition last year, is looking forward to changing the narrative to stand atop the podium tomorrow. 

“Amina just broke into the world’s top 10, so I expect a tight match tomorrow. I hope to just play my game and the result will follow. You can't play perfect squash every day, so I will prepare well and aim to be better than today,” said the reigning Asian Games champion.

Sivasangari has faced Amina twice, losing to the Egyptian at the Squash on Fire Open in February last year and triumphing at the 2023 Hong Kong Open final in December.

In the men’s final, world number 14 Eain Yow faces a more torrid test as he will be up against top seed Youssef Soliman.

In today's semi-finals, the second-seeded Eain Yow battled for 49 minutes to dispose of India's Abhay Singh 11-5, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4 while Soliman overcame compatriot Youssef Ibrahim 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6 in a gruelling 95-minute battle.

“I started really well today but lost focus slightly in the third game and made several errors. However, I managed to recover quickly. The pressure will be higher on him (Soliman) as he's the top seed.

“He had a long match today and it’s very challenging playing on the glass court, which is physically draining. I will try to take advantage, but he's also very fit, so I know he will come back strong tomorrow,” said Eain Yow. 

The Malaysia Squash Cup, a bronze-level tournament on the PSA Tour, offers a total prize purse of US$64,000 (about RM286,000) for each of the men’s and women’s categories.

-- BERNAMA