PETALING JAYA: National director of coaching Major (rtd) S. Maniam has declared that Malaysia can make an impact at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (LA28) with the current crop of players and with the right national structure in place.
The inclusion into the LA28 programme has been music to the ears of the entire squash fraternity the world over and Maniam said they would get down to work to ensure that Malaysia not only compete but have the ability to fight for podium finish.
Maniam added that players in the top 10 should have the best chance for medals in the men’s and women’s individual events, the two categories that will be contested at the LA28, and he believes Ng Eain Yow and S. Sivasangari will be in their prime by 2028.
Eain Yow will be 30 while Sivasangari will be 29 in the next five years.
Strong hope: C. Ameeshenraj will be one of the players who can get closer to the top 10 by 2028.
Eain Yow, the men’s world No. 20, and Sivasangari, the women’s world No. 33 won the men’s and women’s individual golds at the Asian Games in Hangzhou two weeks ago. Sivasangari was ranked 16th in the world before she suffered a car accident last year.
“It has been the dream of not just for squash players but the entire squash fraternity. We are still floating in the air over the news,” said Maniam.
“Having said that, with a current crop of players and the training structure in place, I believe we can make a strong impact at the 2028 Olympics.
“Top 10 players should be the medal contenders in LA28 and Eain Yow and Sangari should be able to make it to that bracket in the next few years and should be there to fight for the medals.
“We also have the younger group of players like Aifa (Azman), Aira (Azman) and C. Ameeshenraj who are all showing good progress and will get closer to the top 10 by 2028.
“So, we have the players and we have to get down to the drawing board and start preparing a comprehensive programme to meet our goals at the LA28.”
Maniam also believes the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) will also be able to attract more sponsors following squash’s elevated status.
“We have been getting good support from the National Sports Council and we hope we can get more from the government to support our development programme which is the key to our success,” said Maniam.
“We also believe the news will attract more private sponsors so that we can continue churning top class squash players as we are not just looking at LA28 but also to do well in the future Games.”
After Malaysia’s success at the recent Asiad where they won three golds, one silver and one bronze, they are also set to be included into the Road to Gold (RTG) programme.
The announcement of squash as an Olympic sport is likely to expedite their entry into the RTG programme where elite players like Bristol-based Eain Yow and New York-based Sivasangari are expected to get additional funding for training and competing in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world tour.
Meanwhile, former international Ong Beng Hee, who is the head coach with the United States team, believes that squash’s debut in the Olympics, will help in a way to break the strong domination of Egypt.
“Everyone is hoping to break the Egyptian domination but it will take a while and for few countries to have that talent and skill to take on Egypt! Most importantly this news will help to create a pipeline of players that can compete against the best and make a living out of playing squash,” said Beng Hee.
“And it’s high time that all associations use this opportunity to market the sport and start to raise own funding for their program rather than have 10 committee members and excos but an association that is broke. There is no more excuses not to raise the game in funding.”
