Counting on you
Sivasangari ready to step up to the plate in Nicol’s absence
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will be banking on sole entry S. Sivasangari to carry the flag at the British Open squash championships.
With eight-time world champion Nicol David withdrawing from the prestigious meet due to an injury, there is the possibility of Malaysia not having a woman representative in the main draw for the first time in 18 years.
The 34-year-old Nicol has been Malaysia’s main challenger at the British meet since 2000, going on to win the title five times (2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014) and finished as runner-up twice (2007 and 2013).
The onus is now on the 19-year-old Sivasangari, who is the only Malaysian woman in the fray, to step up to the plate.
The world No. 38 certainly got off to a solid start in her debut as she downed homester Lily Taylor 17-19, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4 in the first qualifying round at the University of Hull on Sunday.
The national No. 2, who also made the main draw of the El Gouna Open in Egypt last month, will meet world No. 33 Nele Gilis of Belgium in the qualifying finals.
“I think I didn’t play as well as I expected. It’s never easy to play a local because of the home advantage but I’m glad that I managed to get through,” said Sivasangari.
“Without Nicol, I did think of the possibility that there will be no Malaysian in the main draw for the first time in a long while.
“It is an extra motivation to achieve my goal of making the main draw. But I still need to play well in my next match.
“It’s definitely going to be tough as Nele is also a good player. But I have to reset myself for it and just look to play my best and the results will naturally come,” added Sivasangari.
In the men’s qualifying event, both national No. 1 Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan and national No. 2 Ng Eain Yow eased through the first hurdle.
A third Malaysian, world No. 61 Ivan Yuen, however, exited on a whimper in a 8-11, 10-12, 7-11 loss to Hong Kong’s Yip Tsz Fung.