KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia made it to the semi-finals of the Women’s World Squash Team Championships in Cairo with ease, but they will have to work hard to beat the hosts, Egypt.
The Malaysian team played well in the quarterfinals last night and beat Asian champions Hong Kong 3-0. This was the perfect way to get back at Hong Kong for losing the Asian meet finals last month by a score of 2-1.
Malaysia got off to a good start when world number 33 Aifa Azman beat Chan Sin Yuk 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10. Then, after a 42-minute battle, Chan Yiwen beat Tong Tsz Wing 11-1, 7-11, 11-0, 10-12, 11-6.
Rachel Arnold, who is ranked 24th in the world, beat Lee Ka Yi 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 in the third match to make sure that the country won.
“This is my first World Teams, so it feels amazing. I didn’t think I’d make it this far. We just played one game at a time, and yesterday we lost to France. After that, we had a meeting and told each other to support each other and go for it, Yiwen said on the tournament’s official website.
“We are all so proud of the girls, the coaches, and everyone else who works with us…”
– Ajaz Azmat
Ajaz Azmat, the head coach of the national team, said that after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to France in the last group stage, the girls were ready to get back on track and get even with Hong Kong.
“They did a great job, and we’re very happy. Even though they lost to France, the girls were still sure they could do well in the competition. This is such great news for us.
“We are all so proud of the girls, the coaches, and everyone else who works with us, especially after that dark time during COVID-19 when we weren’t allowed to play in any games. So, we set up team bubble training. It was hard for us, but we tried to keep them motivated. I’m glad it worked out in the end,” he said.
Egypt, the defending champion, beat Scotland 3-0 with help from the top three players in the world.
World number one Nouran Gohar beat world number three Georgia Adderley 11-6, 11-4, 11-3. Katriona Allen was beat badly by Hania El Hammamy. 11-2, 11-3, 11-2, and then world number two Nour El Sherbini beat Alison Thomson 11-3, 11-3 (Note: only 2 sets) to put the cherry on top of the cake.
Malaysia’s best performance at the tournament, which happens every two years, was when Datuk Nicol David, Low Wee Wern, Delia Arnold, and Zulhijjah Azan came in second in 2014.
Info source – Bernama