Eain Yow, Sivasangari out to emulate Nicol at World Championships
KUALA LUMPUR: Ng Eain Yow and S. Sivasangari have made inroads into the men's and women's elite squads, and they will be expected to shine at the World Championships, which start on Friday in Chicago.
For the record, eight-time world champion Datuk Nicol David was the last Malaysian to reach the quarter-finals of the world meet — achieved in 2015.
World No. 10 Eain Yow and world No. 9 Sivasangari were both third-round casualties in last year's edition in Cairo.
However, both Malaysians must start making deeper runs at major events like the World Championships if they are to sustain momentum ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Former Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) director Major (Rtd) S. Maniam believes that based on their current rankings, Eain Yow and Sivasangari should be aiming to reach at least the quarter-finals in Chicago.
"It's time for them to close the gap with the top eight players in their respective categories, and it should start in Chicago," said Maniam. "They must push themselves hard to reach the last eight."
A redraw in the men's competition, following the withdrawal of world No. 5 Joel Makin of Wales, has done little to help Eain Yow's path.
The Malaysian is expected to beat Englishman Patrick Rooney and France's world No. 27 Auguste Dussourd in the opening two rounds but will likely face world No. 1 Mostafa Asal of Egypt in the next.
Asal, the runner-up last year to Peru's Diego Elias, has been in devastating form, having won the Optasia Open in London in March and the El Gouna International Open in Egypt last month.
Maniam believes Asian champion Eain Yow needs to build strong self-belief to challenge players like Asal.
"Eain Yow must believe he can beat anyone if he wants to achieve bigger things," said Maniam.
Meanwhile, Sivasangari has shown encouraging signs since beginning work with former world champion Gregory Gaultier of France.
Her standout performance this season was winning the Cincinnati Cup in February, followed by a runner-up finish at the Grasshopper Cup in Zurich last month, where she lost to world No. 1 and reigning world champion Nouran Gohar of Egypt.
In Chicago, Sivasangari will begin her campaign against Spain's world No. 52 Marta Dominguez.
If she progresses, the 26-year-old is likely to meet Egypt's world No. 17 Sana Ibrahim in the second round.
Further ahead, she could come up against American stars Amanda Sobhy (world No. 8) and Olivia Weaver (No. 4) in the third round and quarter-finals.
Sivasangari, however, should draw confidence from having beaten both players in Cincinnati — Sobhy in the final and Weaver in the semis.
If she can reproduce her best squash, the Malaysian could even go beyond the last eight to set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with world No. 2 and seven-time world champion Nour El Sherbini.
Sivasangari has often spoken about her desire to follow in the footsteps of Nicol, who won Malaysia's only world title in Cairo in 2014.
The other Malaysians competing in Chicago are world No. 72 Sanjay Jeeva (men's competition), world No. 19 Rachel Arnold, world No. 26 Aira Azman, world No. 38 Aifa Azman and world No. 48 Ainaa Amani (women's competition).
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