Back in the groove
Wee Wern marks return to form with easy semis win
KUALA LUMPUR: Low Wee Wern is getting back to her best and is looking dangerous.
The former world No. 5 showed her determination by blowing away national No. 2 and defending champion S. Sivasangari 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 in a 33-minute women’s semi-final to seal a place in the Malaysian Open squash championship final.
It was only two weeks ago that Wee Wern lost to Sivasangari in the National Championship but yesterday, she was head and shoulders above her junior at the National Squash Centre.
Between Wee Wern and the Malaysian Open title now is Japan’s Satomi Watanabe, who stunned top seed Omneya Abdel Kawy of Egypt 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 yesterday.
Wee Wern was pleased with her perfor-
mance as it was only her second tournament after being out for 20 months due to a knee injury.
“It’s hard to know what to expect these days on court because I’ve been away for so long. I won’t say it was expected but it is what I have worked and hoped for,” said Wee Wern.
“The nationals against Sivasangari was my first competitive match, so obviously I had a lot of things to work on and I had a week to work on it.”
“I didn’t have much time but at least there was some improvement today.”
The win was significant for the 27-year-old, who believes her PSA career is back on the right track.
“I just need to keep playing more matches, get more competitive and try to get back to where I was before,” said Wee Wern.
“It’s a bit of how I used to play, part of it is coming back to me and it’s good to finally feel a bit more comfortable on the court.
“There’s still a lot of things to work on but it’s coming back to me and that is a positive sign.”
The 19-year-old Sivasangari took the defeat in her stride and promised to come back stronger.
“Wee Wern controlled the game from the start, I just wasn’t there and did not bring my A game today. I have to come back stronger,” said Sivasangari.