Nomination for award already an honour for Sivasangari

PETALING JAYA: Getting her name considered for the Sportswoman of the Year award came as a total surprise to national squash player S. Sivasangari (pic).

The 19-year-old earned the recognition following a stellar season last year in which she won two gold medals at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games and three Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour titles, including the revived Malaysian Open.

Her feats were not enough as diver Cheong Jun Hoong took the Sportswoman honour following her historic triumph in the 10m platform event at the World Championships last year.

The world No. 45, however, believes the recognition itself is already a motivation for her to do well, starting with theCommonwealth Games in Gold Coast next month.

“I wasn’t really expecting to be nominated. I didn’t think I’ve done enough in a such a short time to merit a nomination,” admitted Sivasangari.

“If it was a rising star award, then perhaps I would have expected it a little more.

“Still, it’s good to be recognised and it also serves as inspiration for me to work harder.

“I would love to get nominated again and maybe win it some day. It’s something for me to work towards.

“Right now the focus is on doing well at the Commonwealth Games since it’s a major event for squash.

“It’s going to be tough with many top players there and the pressure is on us to do well so that we’re not completely relying on Nicol (David).

“I’m certainly hoping to do my best, especially in women’s doubles where I’m partnering Rachel (Arnold).

“Anything can happen in the doubles and since we’re not a known pair, our target is to go there and surprise the competition,” she added.

Besides Sivasangari, Nicol and Rachel, the fourth member of the team is in-form 16-year-old Aifa Azman.

The men’s line-up comprises Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan, Ng Eain Yow, Ivan Yuen, Mohd Syafiq Kamal and Sanjay Singh Chal.

There are five events at the Games – singles (men and women) and doubles (men, women and mixed), and Malaysia’s best bet for a medal is still world No. 8 Nicol.