Double-A rescue act
Andrea and Aifa steer M’sia to team gold ANDREA Lee and Aifa Azman came to the rescue as the women’s team delivered Malaysia’s sixth gold in squash.
It was anything but easy as they had to dig deep into their reserves to edge Singapore 2-1 in the final at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
With the Malaysian men suffering a shock semi-final loss to the Philippines a day earlier, the women knew they had to deliver the goods.
With a 3-1-2 order of play, 16-year-old Ooi Kah Yan was a bundle of nerves as she went down 10-12, 11-4, 4-11, 11-7, 9-11 to Pamela Chua in the first tie.
But 18-year-old Andrea, fresh from winning a gold and a silver in the women’s doubles and mixed doubles, calmed the team’s nerves as she coolly dispatched Mao Shihui 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 to level the tie.
Singapore never stood a chance when Aifa went into court.
The two-time British Junior Open winner, who was part of the team who finished second at the World Junior Team Championships last month, was simply a class above Sneha Sivakumar.
Aifa was hardly tested as she romped to an 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 win.
“Kah Yan lost a close one and I was playing as the No. 1 for the first time. So there was a lot of pressure on me,” said Andrea.
“I started off nervously but I just kept calm and played my own game.
“I’m glad I managed to pull through in front of the home crowd.”
Said Aifa: “We needed to win. After the defeat of the men’s team, we lost out on our seven-gold target. I was nervous too but the experience of having played at the world juniors helped me relax.
“I’m glad I helped the team finish with a gold. It’s also my first gold in my Games debut.”
With the women’s team’s success, Malaysia ended their campaign with 6-4-2 haul.
I’m glad I managed to pull through in front of the home crowd. Andrea Lee