Latest news with #AsianIndividualChampionships
The Star
02-08-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Ainaa racing against time to recover for national meet
PETALING JAYA: Time is ticking for squash player Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi as she races to recover from a knee injury ahead of the National Championships in Penang from Aug 13-17. The 23-year-old has been injured since the Asian Individual Championships in Sarawak in June and it also caused her problems during the SEA Cup in Bangkok last week.
The Star
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Ainaa through to semi-finals of SEA Cup, but may not get to see action
PETALING JAYA: Defending champion Ainaa Amani Apandi (pic) may be forced to withdraw from the SEA Cup squash competition despite securing a spot in the semi-finals. The ninth edition of the tournament in Bangkok saw top seed Ainaa advance to the last four after defeating Indonesia's Raifa Putri Yattaqi 11-7, 11-8, 12-14, 11-8 in 25 minutes in her opening match yesterday. Her victory set up a semi-final clash against the Philippines' Jemyca Aribado today. However, national coach Shahril Shahidan revealed that there are concerns over the 23-year-old's fitness as she was still recovering from a recurring right knee injury sustained during the Asian Individual Championships in Sarawak last month. 'At the moment, we are unsure if she will be fit to play in the semi-finals. The medical team are monitoring her condition closely,' said Shahril when contacted. 'If the situation does not improve, she may have to pull out. We do not want to take any risks that could worsen the injury.' Ainaa is also wary of aggravating the problem, especially with the National Championships scheduled for the end of the month. The tournament will serve as a selection ground for the SEA Games in Thailand this December. Should Ainaa withdraw, the spotlight will shift to second seed Yee Xin Ying to carry Malaysia's hopes. Xin Ying booked her place in the semi-finals after cruising past Indonesia's Nisa Nur Fadilah 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 in just 17 minutes. She will face Singapore's Au Yeong Wai Yhann for a place in the final. It was a similar outcome in the men's event, with Harith Danial Jefri delivering a solid performance to beat David William Pelino 11-4, 11-9, 11-3 to make the last four.
The Star
26-06-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Ajaz proud of players' strong displays despite final losses at Asian Doubles C'ships
The Malaysian squash players with their medals at the conclusion of the Asian Doubles Championships in Kuching, Sarawak. PETALING JAYA: Malaysia may have missed out on gold, but two silver medals are still a strong result for the national squad at the Asian Doubles Championships, which concluded in Kuching, Sarawak, on Wednesday. National squash coach Ajaz Azmat remained proud of his players' efforts, especially as both Malaysian pairs in the women's and mixed doubles were beaten by opponents from the same country, India. The Indian camp underlined their dominance by also clinching the men's doubles title through Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar. It was a second straight letdown on home soil for Malaysia. Just a week earlier at the same venue, Rachel Arnold was denied in the final of the Asian Individual Championships by Hong Kong's Ho Tze Lok. This time, Rachel endured more heartbreak after partnering Ameeshenraj Chandaran in the mixed doubles final. The pair were unable to overcome India's Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh, going down 9-11, 7-11 in 28 minutes. Earlier, the women's doubles pair of Ainaa Amani and Xin Xing Yee also came painfully close but were edged out 11-8, 9-11, 10-11 by India's Joshana Chinappa and Anahat in a gripping 35-minute contest. Despite settling for silver, Ajaz was encouraged by the team's progress, particularly as the tournament followed a format similar to next year's Asian Games in Nagoya. "I think we did well overall. The idea was that everyone had to play in all the events - individual, team, mixed doubles, and women's doubles. This is the same format that will be used at the Asian Games. "If you're playing in the individual events, you're definitely going to play for the team as well, and you can't really avoid that. "What happened was that most countries, like India, did not have their mixed doubles players competing in the individual event. But for Malaysia and Hong Kong, the same players took part in the singles and all the doubles events. "So, considering that, we actually did quite well," said Ajaz when contacted. He also pointed out that Malaysia were without several of their top players in Kuching, including Ng Eain Yow, S. Sivasangari and Aifa Azman. Aifa was part of the women's doubles winning pair in the previous edition held in Johor Baru, where she partnered her younger sister Aira Azman to lift the title. For the record, at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, the national squash team contributed three gold medals through Sivasangari, Eain Yow and the women's team event.
Barnama
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Barnama
Malaysia Dominate quarter-final Berths At Asian Individual Squash Championships
By Zaphne Philip KUCHING, June 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia continued to showcase dominance in Asian squash as five national women's players advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2025 Asian Individual Championships at the Sarawak Squash Centre, Petra Jaya, today. Top seed Rachel Arnold had little trouble dispatching Japan's Risa Sugimoto in straight games, winning 11-5, 11-7, 11-8. bootstrap slideshow The 29-year-old is set to face China's Tong Tsz Wing, who earlier defeated Singapore's Au Yeong Wai Yhann 11-4, 11-6, 11-7. Also recording a comfortable victory was Aira Azman, who overwhelmed Japan's Boram Ryoo 11-1, 11-3, 11-4. Aira is scheduled to face fellow Malaysian Yee Xin Ying in tomorrow's last eight. Earlier, Yee beat another Japanese opponent, Erisa Sano, 11-4, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7. Aifa Azman also secured her place by defeating Chan Sin Yuk of China 11-3, 11-5, 11-5. She will next face another Chinese player, Lee Ka Yi. Another Malaysian player, Ainaa Amani, extended the women's team's excellence by defeating Japan's Akari Midorikawa 11-3, 11-3, 11-6. Ainaa is set to meet Ho Tze Lok in another quarter-final tie. Meanwhile, in the men's category, Joachim Chuah advanced to the last eight after a hard-fought five-game battle against Pakistan's Noor Zaman, winning 11-3, 11-3, 3-11, 10-12, 11-2. Joachim will face India's Velavan Senthilkumar next. His teammate, Ameeshenraj Chandaran, also earned a convincing win, defeating India's Suraj Chand 5-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 to book a meeting with top Qatari seed, Abdulla Al-Tamimi.
