Rachel and Andrea to face off in circuit final

KUALA LUMPUR: Rachel Arnold and Andrea Lee joined forces to bag the women’s doubles gold medal at the recent KL SEA Games.

But there will be no love lost when they face each other in the final of the Malaysian Tour Squash Circuit (SSJM) No. 10 at the NSC Squash Centre in Jalan Duta today.

Top seed and world No. 50 Rachel had too much experience as she overcame national junior Lai Wen Li 12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-5 in a 45-minute semi-final yesterday.

Seventh seed Andrea overcame a slow start to oust second seed Lee Ka Yi of Hong Kong 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-1 in just 29 minutes.

Now, the 18-year-old Andrea, who is ranked 104th in the world, aims to get the better of 21-year-old Rachel.

“I think I gave Ka Yi too many half-court opportunities in the first set,” said Andrea.

“But once I found my length, I just kept the rallies going. It will be an interesting final against Rachel. I’ve never really played against her before. Hopefully, I’ll end up the winner.”

Said Rachel: “I hardly train with Andrea because we’re in different age groups. But she’s a good attacking player, especially with her volleys. I’m also an attacking player, so cutting down my mistakes will be the key.”

In men’s event, Mohd Syafiq Kamal stormed into the final after beating Czech Republic’s Ondrej Uherka 11-4, 11-6 11-4.

The 21-year-old, who is seeking his second career title, takes on top seed Harinderpal Sandhu of India in the final.

World No. 66 Harinderpal won his 20th straight match on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour after outclassing qualifier Darren Rahul Pragasam 11-1, 11-8, 11-8.