SQUASH: CROSS HAILS MALAYSIANS' RESILIENCE DESPITE AUSTRALIAN OPEN SETBACKS

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Bernama) -- The Squash Racket Association of Malaysia (SRAM) coaching director Andrew Cross praised Malaysian squash players for their resilience and improvement during their campaign at the Australian Open 2025, despite failing to reach the finals in Brisbane yesterday.

Cross said Sivasangari showed marked improvement compared to her previous outing, where the 26-year-old athlete lost 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 to Rowan Elaraby of Egypt in the quarter-finals of the New Zealand Open in Christchurch.

"Sivasangari played quite well against Rowan yesterday. She lost 0-3 last week in New Zealand, but this week her performance was much better," he told Bernama today.

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Meanwhile, Cross commented on Aifa Azman who was making her first competitive appearance of the year after recovering from a quadriceps injury sustained in January, and said she had shown a positive start to the season.

"It was a good week for Aifa as this was her first event of the year and her debut in a gold quarter-final. Despite a blister on the bottom of her foot, her effort and resilience were impressive," he added.

Yesterday, Sivasangari crashed out of the women’s quarter-finals in the Australian Open 2025 after a 65-minute battle, losing 9-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 5-11 to fourth-seeded Rowan at the South Bank Piazza.

Aifa, on the other hand suffered a heavy 0-11, 4-11, 5-11 defeat to second seed Tinne Gilis of Belgium in just 23 minutes.

In the men’s draw, national player and fifth seed Ng Eain Yow was forced to retire during the deciding game against Egypt’s Mohamad Zakaria while trailing 2-6.

Cross, however, clarified that Eain Yow did not suffer any serious injuries during yesterday’s match.

"It was a good match, but he just didn’t get the win. He ended up with a cramp in the fourth set on a very hot and challenging court," Cross said.

-- BERNAMA