The Star Malaysia

Low on a high after collecting back-to-back titles in Malaysia and Tasmania

- By AFTAR SINGH

KUALA LUMPUR: Cheers to qualifier Low Wee Wern for winning back-to-back titles.

The Penangite, who was out of action for 20 months due to knee injury, showed true grit by stunning top seed Rachael Grinham of Australia 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 in the final to lift the Tasmanian Open squash title yesterday.

Last week in the Malaysian Open final, Wee Wern upset fourth seed Satomi Watanabe of Japan in straight sets.

Former world No. 5 Wee Wern is definitely back to her top form as she only dropped just one set in the five matches she played in the Tasmanian Open.

In the Malaysian Open, she also lost one set in the six matches she played.

Wee Wern, who turned 28 on July 25, said it was great to win back-to-back titles after being out of action for 20 months.

“I have go through the qualifiers in both the tournament­s as I am ranked 256th in the world. But I am happy to be back to my best form and also moving in the right direction after winning both the titles.

“By winning the two titles, I will break into the top-100 bracket in the world rank- ings by the first week of August,” said Wee Wern.

“It will be a good boost for my squash career as I want to continue improving my world rankings in the Profession­al Squash Associatio­n (PSA) tournament­s.

“I still need to keep improving my game and speed to return to my best form,” said Wee Wern, who thanked her coach Aaron Soyza for getting her back in top shape in just 10 weeks.

“I must also thank my sponsors Nusmetro Group and Mizuno. They continued to support me even when I couldn’t compete for 20 months due to injury,” added Wee Wern, who stayed back in Australia to compete in the Australian Open, which begins on Wednesday.

“I was not supposed to play in the tournament but after winning the Malaysian and Tasmanian Open, I managed to get a spot.

“The PSA have also come out with a new ruling from Aug 1 that there will be no more qualifying matches.

“All players who confirmed their entries for a tournament will play in the main draw,” said Wee Wern, who will face teammate Wen Lai Li in the first round.

 ??  ?? The victor and the vanquished: Low Wee Wern (right) posing with the trophy after beating Rachael Grinham (left) to win the Tasmanian Open squash title yesterday.
The victor and the vanquished: Low Wee Wern (right) posing with the trophy after beating Rachael Grinham (left) to win the Tasmanian Open squash title yesterday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Malaysia