Rachel in fine form on return to court
THE long layoff from competitive squash has done nothing to slow down Rachel Arnold as she stormed into the women’s semi-finals of the SRAM PSA 1 in quickfire time.
The World No 44, who is competing in only her second tournament in the last 12 months, took just 16 minutes to demolish Chan Yiwen 11-5, 11-7, 11-3 in the quarterfinals at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
It was the fastest match of the day in the last-eight stage, signalling the national No 3’s intention to get her career back on track after seeing her progress disrupted by the Covid-19 situation last year.
“A 3-0 win is always good, and I think I played well today,” said the 24-year-old yesterday. “Even though it has been a while since we played on the glass court, I think my movements were good. It’s also down to the fact that I’ve been practising hard during the downtime.”
The second seed will have a trickier match in the semi-finals against national No 4 Aifa Azman today.
World No 64 Aifa was also in top form as she blew away Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 in just 20 minutes.
“It’s going to be a lot tougher in the next round as Aifa is quite a dangerous opponent,” said Rachel.
“The pressure is certainly on me. Everyone is hungry and motivated to do well after going without competitions for so long. But I think I’ve prepared myself well for this tournament, and I am physically ready as well.
Top seed Low Wee Wern also advanced to the semi-finals without difficulty by defeating Aika Azman 11-3, 11-2, 11-3.
The Penang-born plays fourth seed Ooi Kah Yan, who slogged before overcoming Yee Xin Ying 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9, for a place in the final.
In the men’s event, veteran Elvinn Keo pulled off an upset by beating fourth seed Darren Rahul Pragasam 5-11, 11-7, 2-11, 114, 11-7 to reach the semi-finals.
Elvinn meets second seed Syafiq Kamal, who eased past Adam Agan Aziz 11-2, 11-7, 11-2, today.The other semi-final will be between top seed Ivan Yuen and third seed Addeen Idrakie.
RESULTS — Q-FINALS
Men: Ivan Yuen bt Siow Yee Xian 11-8, 11-5, 11-8; Addeen Idrakie bt Ong Sai Hung 11-6, 118, 11-4; Elvinn Keo bt Darren Rahul Pragasam 511, 11-7, 2-11, 11-4, 11-7; Syafiq Kamal bt Adam Agan Aziz 11-2, 11-7, 11-2.
Women: Low Wee Wern bt Aika Azman 11-3, 11-2, 11-3; Ooi Kah Yan bt Yee Xin Ying 11-7, 911, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9; Aifa Azman bt Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi 11-5, 11-3, 11-3; Rachel Arnold bt Chan Yiwen 11-5, 11-7, 11-3. Kng Zheng Guan