MALAYSIA ‘SAFER’ THAN AMERICA
Sivasangari not ready to return to US base
NATIONAL squash player S. Sivasangari is feeling apprehensive about going back to her base in the United States, for now.
The national No 2, who is pursuing her studies at Cornell University in New York, returned to Malaysia in March as the Covid19 situation became increasingly worrying at that time.
The pandemic situation is under control in Malaysia now and athletes have been given the green light to resume training following three months of Movement Control Order (MCO).
But the same cannot be said of the US, although various states there have begun daily operations.
And Sivasangari, who trains under Australian former World No 1 David Palmer at Cornell, is weighing up her options in the coming days.
“I am glad to be able to get back on court after three months because I was back home in Kedah during the entire MCO period,” explained Sivasangari.
“I could only work on my endurance and fitness there since I couldn’t get on court and it was only last week that I finally had a hit on court with (Ong) Sai Hung.
“But despite the improving situation, especially here in Malaysia, I am still not sure about my return to Cornell.
“I got an email from the university that says the campus is reopening, although we have a choice of deciding whether to go back or not.
“In terms of studies, the next term starts in September but we have the option of resuming classes online for the time being as it seems like the final exams is set to be conducted online.
“To be honest, I don’t really mind going back if the green light is given by all parties and there is the possibility of resuming training back in Cornell.
“But it’s really still quite dangerous to be travelling right now and health concerns is still an issue in the US right now.
“I will probably have a meeting with Palmer to discuss and assess all my options before making a decision.”
For now Sivasangari is glad to be back in KL as she looks to rejoin the national training camp at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.
“I only came back on Wednesday since my mother is a schoolteacher and is required to go back to physical classes soon,” said Sivasangari.
“But I’m looking to working on a variety of things here in the meantime, most importantly on some outdoor training and some tactical aspects of my game with head coach Ajaz (Azmat).
“Of course, it might be a while before squash tournaments resumes but I’m definitely hoping the Women’s World Team Championships gets the go-ahead in December.
“That is something I would really look forward to since I don’t play too many tournaments during college season and it just got a lot worse this year because of this pandemic situation.”