Heartbreak for Eain Yow, Rachel and Sivasangari in squash finals
KUALA LUMPUR: It was hard luck for world No. 10 Ng Eain Yow and world No. 20 Rachel Arnold after they came up short in the men's and women's finals at the Squash On Fire Open in Washington on Sunday.
Third seed Eain Yow fell 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 in 38 minutes to top seed Marwan El Shorbagy of England in the men's final.
Fourth seed Rachel battled bravely but lost 11-4, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9 to world No. 10 Amanda Sobhy of the United States in the women's final.
Meanwhile, women's Asian champion and world No. 11 S. Sivasangari also fell short in the Grasshopper Cup final in Zurich, losing 11-7, 14-12, 11-9 to world No. 1 and world champion Nouran Gohar of Egypt.
It was Sivasangari's fourth defeat to Nouran in as many meetings.
National head coach Ajaz Azmat admitted it was a tough day for Malaysian squash.
"However, they did well to reach their respective finals. Their opponents were just too strong," said Ajaz.
"They need to continue training hard with the hope of winning titles in upcoming tournaments."
Ajaz also expects Sivasangari to regain her place in the world's top 10 following her strong showing in Zurich.
"Sivasangari made the right decision by moving her training base from Cornell in the US to Prague earlier this month to train under former world champion Gregory Gaultier of France," he said.
"All three players will now turn their attention to preparing for the World Championships in Chicago from May 8-17."
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