Well prepared: Ng Eain Yow in action against Kuwait’s Abdullah Almezayen in the men’s individual squash quarter-finals.
SQUASH player Ng Eain Yow decided to stay back a little longer to watch Kuwaiti Abdullah Almezayen play in the last-16 stage on Monday.
And the move paid off as the top seed pulled off a sensational 14-12, 11-6, 11-1 win against the 2014 Incheon Asian Games gold medallist to advance to the semi-finals of the men’s singles competition at HOC Squash Centre yesterday.
Eain Yow will face Qatar’s Abdullah Baltamimi, who crushed Addeen Idrakie’s hopes of an all-Malaysian semi-final affair.
The Qatari player beat Asiad debutant Addeen 11-2, 11-7, 11-2 in another quarter-final clash.
The bronze medal is already in hand by reaching the semis but that is not Eain Yow’s objective in the individual event.
Eain Yow had to settle for bronze in the team event after Malaysia lost 0-2 to India in the men’s team final on Saturday and is surely hoping for a better outcome in the individual campaign.
“It was quite a tricky match-up as the Kuwaiti player has not played in the pro Tour this year, so I did not know his current condition. The last time I saw him, I was still a junior and so I stayed back yesterday to watch him play.
“I was down 8-10 in the first set but I managed to come back to win, and I grew in confidence.
“He lost confidence towards the end.
“There is no easy match at this level. If I can execute the game plan well, I have a good chance to win tomorrow.”
It was the same storyline for the women’s individual event as Malaysia will only be banking on S. Sivasangari for success.
The 24-year-old defeated South Korean Heo Min-gyeong 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 to reach the semi-finals but Aira Azman crashed out.
Aira lost 7-11, 4-11, 4-11 to Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk in another quarter-final match.
“It’s always good to win in three games. I was confident and I tried to finish it fast,” said Sivasangari, who will face Japan’s Satomi Watanabe for a place in the final today.
Sivasangari is expecting a tougher challenge against the Japanese.
“It’s definitely not going to be as easy. She is a good friend and there is a good rivalry between both of us. She is playing well lately, so I think it will be close,” added Sivasangari, who lost to Datuk Nicol David in the final in Indonesia five years ago.
Aifa Azman-Mohd Syafiq Kamal will fly the flag for Malaysia in the mixed doubles after beating South Korea’s Eum Hwa-yeong-Yoo Jae-jin 11-5, 11-6 to reach the semi-finals.
Aifa-Syafiq takes on India's Anahat Singh-Abhay Singh for a place in the final today.
Earlier, Rachel Arnold-Ivan Yuen missed out on a place in the last eight after losing 9-11, 10-11 to Hong Kong’s Lee Ka Yi-Wong Chi Him.
