RISE OF THE TEEN TITANS
Eain Yow, Sivasangari deliver as veterans struggle
DEVINDER SINGH devinder@nst.com.my
THE next generation of Malaysian squash hogged the headlines this year as teenagers Ng Eain Yow and S. Sivasangari built upon the promising displays they showed in the previous year.
With neither Nafiizwan Adnan nor Ivan Yuen able to win a PSA Tour title in 2017 while Nicol David was restricted to just one, the emergence of Eain Yow and Sivasangari could not be more timely.
After winning the world junior title in 2016, Eain Yow soared to the brink of the world's top-50 on the back of winning two PSA Tour titles in Australia and reaching the Malaysian Open final.
The 19-year-old also won the Sea Games men's singles gold in Kuala Lumpur, albeit after a shocking loss to Robert Garcia of the Philippines which led to Malaysia's exit in the team event semi-finals.
Eain Yow, now at a career-high 54th in the world, also defeated national champion Ivan Yuen twice in 2017 in showcasing the talent many predict will take him places.
Low Wee Wern's injury-enforced absence and Delia Arnold's retirement left a gaping hole to be filled in the women's senior ranks but 18-year-old Sivasangari stepped up admirably.
After a breakout 2016 when she won six PSA Tour titles, Sivasangari returned from a break focusing on her studies to win three more titles as well as two gold medals at the Sea Games.
Her biggest achievement was winning the Malaysian Open before ending the year with an inspired run to the final of the CAS International in Islamabad, beating former world champion Rachael Grinham of Australia in the semi-finals.
Nicol ended a 15-month title drought in March when she won the Ciudad de Floridablanca tournament in Colombia before reaching the NetSuite Open final in San Francisco in September.
But defeats to Annie Au at the US Open, Camille Serme at the Hong Kong Open and Raneem El Weleily at the World Championship left Nicol at sixth in the world ranking heading towards the end of the year.
Nicol, however, remains steadfast in her belief that winning a major title is still within her capabilities despite her struggles in adjusting to the lower tin in the women's squash.
With the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games approaching in April, Nicol will be bidding to win a hat-trick of gold medals as well as gearing up for two PSA Tour Super Series events in January at New York and Saudi Arabia.
Nafiizwan and Ivan, who won his first national title in 2017, had a relatively subdued year with the latter missing the last few months due to a health issue.
In Ivan's absence, Malaysia finished 12th at the men's World Team Championship for their lowest finish since 2003 after fielding three debutants in the tournament.
The Sea Games saw the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia selecting a young contingent and were rewarded with six gold medals, the most satisfying were a women's team comprising four teenagers winning gold.