Turning negative vibes into positive
national No 3 Rachel Arnold is channeling her jealousy into motivation as she looks to get back into competitive action.
The World No 43 has not played in tournaments since the National Championships in October, where she lost in the semi-finals to national No 1 Low Wee Wee Wern.
Rachel’s last Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour event was the Black Ball Open in Egypt in March last year before the Covid-19 pandemic affected the international calendar.
With most national players still unable to travel overseas due to travel restrictions, the 24-year-old is envious of her rivals who have already started playing competitively.
Rachel is using that to keep herself motivated and pumped up for the SRAM PSA 1 event on April 9-12 at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.
“It is a bit frustrating, but I am glad that we are finally back to competitions. I am super excited about the SRAM event.
“I’ve certainly been jealous seeing players playing on the tour the past few months, but I’ve also been keeping track of the level of play on the women’s tour so that I can match up to them when the time comes.
“I am also trying to focus on
bigger events such as the Asian Team Championships and the Commonwealth Games. That’s what has been keeping me going.”
Rachel, who is the second seed behind Wee Wern for the SRAM meet, is eager to make up for the lost time.
She has a first-round bye and meets K. Sehveetrrraa or Whitney Isabelle Wilson in the second round.
“I would want nothing less than making the final, although I am just looking to take it each game at a time.
“I’m definitely prepared, although it would have been nice to have more time to train.”