Aira crashes out but sister Aifa reaches semis in style at Asian meet
PETALING JAYA: It was a day of contrasting fortunes for the Azman siblings Aira and Aifa in the Asian Championships.
Second seed Aira was shocked by teammate and sixth seed Yee Xin Ying when the latter made it to the semi-finals after scoring a sensational 11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8 upset win at the Sarawak Squash Centre in Kuching on Thursday (June 19).
Xin Ying will face Hong Kong's Ho Tze Lok, who ended the run of Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi with a 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5 win.
Aifa, however, was in her element when she dumped third-fourth seed Lee Ka Yi of Hong Kong 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 in the quarter-finals.
Aifa will face top seed Rachel Arnold, who fought hard to beat Hong Kong's Tong Tsz Wing 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 in another last eight match.
It was sweet revenge for Rachel, who came close to becoming Asian champion in 2021 but was denied by Tsz Wing in the final in Pakistan.
Said Rachel: "I'm feeling confident, but I still have to stay sharp in order to win the championship."
"I got close to winning in 2021, so I'm really hoping to redeem it this time," she said.
Malaysia's campaign in the men's department came to an end yesterday after both Joachim Chuah and C. Ameeshenraj lost their quarter-final matches.
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
(Malaysians unless stated)
Men: S. Velavan (Ind) bt Joachin Chuah 11-7, 11-6, 11-6; Abdulla Al-Tamimi (Qat) bt C. Ameeshenraj 11-7, 11-9, 11-3; Lau Tsz Kwan (Hkg) bt Wong Chi Him (Hkg) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6; Henry Leung (Hkg) bt Nasri Iqbal (Pak) 11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7.
Women: Rachel Arnold bt Tong Tsz Wing (Hkg) 11-8, 11-8, 11-8; Aifa Azman bt Lee Ka Yi (Hkg) 11-5, 11-7, 11-4; Yee Xin Ying bt Aira Azman 11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8; Ho Tze Lok (Hkg) bt Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5.
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