Good show, Sivasangari

M’sian upsets world junior champ in Nantes

KUALA LUMPUR: S. Sivasangari pulled off an upset by ousting world junior champion Rowan Reda in the first round of the Nantes Open squash championships.

Fresh from a two-gold haul at the recent Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, the 18-year-old Malaysian recovered from a two-set deficit to register a 3-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 win over the Egyptian yesterday.

Sivasangari will take on top seed Millie Tomlinson of England in the quarter-finals.

“I didn’t start so well today. I made so many errors at the start which is poor at this level of squash,” said Sivasangari.

“I told myself to just go for it in the third set. Rowan also got a little tired and I took that as an advantage to play the short rallies. It put her under pressure and gave me confidence.

“I’m really happy with this win. It means a lot to beat the world junior champ.

“Of course it won’t be easy taking on Millie. She’s a top 30 player and it will be a good experience for me,” added Sivasangari.

In Hong Kong, defending champion Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan also got off to a solid start in the first round of the HKFC International.

The world No. 32, who is seeded sixth, shrugged off Pakistan’s Farhan Mehboob’s challenge with an 11-6, 7-11, 11-4, 11-4 win.

He next plays second seed and world No. 27 Alan Clyne of Scotland for a place in the semi-finals.

“Alan will be another tough challenge and I need to prepare myself well,” said Nafiizwan.