World No.73 Sivasangari Subramaniam remains in with a chance of
lifting a third consecutive PSA World Tour title after the
17-year-old stormed into the semi-final stage of the Malaysian
Squash Tour III, PSA W5 tournament.
Subramaniam, who was born in Sungai Petani Kedah, has prevailed in
both of the last two editions of the 2016 Malaysian Tour and her
imperious form has continued unabated into this event with a routine
3-0 win over fellow Malaysian Teh Min Ern seeing her claim yet
another semi-final place.
A dominant display from Subramaniam saw her capture the victory
courtesy of an 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 scoreline and she is now just one
win away from appearing in her fourth career PSA World Tour final.
She will take on Japanese qualifier Satomi Watanabe for a place in
the showpiece event, after a sensational display from the World
No.156 saw her down second seed Lotte Eriksen in straight games.
The other semi-final spots will be taken up by number top seed
Vanessa Chu and Zoe Foo Yuk Han, who will face off after securing
respective wins against Lakeesha Rarere and Sadia Gul.
Malaysian World No.131 Elvinn Keo was the sole home player to make
it through to the semi-final of the Malaysian Squash Tour III, PSA
M10 tournament after producing a strong display to defeat Hong
Kong’s Chi Him Wong in the last eight.
Keo had the better of the opening exchanges and powered into a
one-game lead, only to see Chi battle back to bring the match back
to all square in the second.
However, Keo soon rediscovered his rhythm and he outmanoeuvred his
opponent in games three and four to secure the win. The 27-year-old
reached the final of the previous instalment of the Malaysian Tour
last week and is one win away from reaching the same stage this time
around.
“I felt like I really played like an old man out there, I was so
slow and could hardly move,” said Elvinn to The Star
“My experience got me through, slowing down the game really helped
me. Hopefully, my body can recover for another match.”
Number two seed Piedro Schweertman, who came through a dramatic
five-game thriller with Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu to reach the
last four, will go up against Keo in the semi-final as he bids to
reach his first PSA World Tour final since November.
Rex Hedrick and Carlos Cornes Ribadas will do battle in the other
semi-final fixture after Hedrick overcame wildcard Eain Yow Ng, who
was aiming for two Malaysian Tour titles in a row, and Ribadas
defeated compatriot Bernat Jaume.
Title favourite Vanessa Chu moved through to the quarter-final stage
of the Malaysian Squash Tour III, PSA W5 tournament after recovering
from a game down to defeat Chan Yiwen in the opening round.
Chu, who has three PSA World Tour titles to her name, went behind
early on after being beaten in a tense tie-break but clawed a game
back in the second to level proceedings in Kuala Lumpur. The third
game was even closer than the first, with Chu narrowly edging it
17-15, and she followed that up by taking the fourth to secure her
quarter-final place.
Up next for Chu is a fixture against Pakistan’s Sadia Gul after the
number five seed came back from a game down to beat wildcard Ooi Kah
Yan in a five-game thriller.
Third seed Sivasangari Subramaniam also moved into the last eight
after downing precocious 14-year-old talent Aifa Azman. Subramaniam
is eyeing up a third successive PSA World Tour title after
triumphing in both stages of the 2016 Malaysian Tour so far this
year and she will go up against Teh Min Ern for a place in the
semi-final after the Malaysian qualifier came through in five
against Sammer Anjum.
Norway’s Lotte Eriksen is appearing at just her second PSA World
Tour event in the past year and she made a strong start to her
tournament with a 3-1 win over South Korean qualifier Yura Choi. Up
next for Eriksen is an encounter with Malaysian Squash Tour II
semi-finalist Satomi Watanabe, who upset Australia’s Lisa Camilleri.
Lakeesha Rarere and Zoe Foo Yuk Han will line up against each other
in the other quarter-final after they managed victories against Noor
Shadira and Aika Azman, respectively.
Local wildcard Eain Yow Ng continued his stunning recent results on
the 2016 Malaysian Squash Tour with a superb come from behind
victory over compatriot Sanjay Singh Chal in the third instalment of
this year’s Tour.
Eain Yow, who sensationally won the Malaysian Squash Tour II event
last week, started off brilliantly by winning the first game but
soon found himself behind after a resurgent Chal fought back.
However, 18-year-old Eain Yow rallied and overturned Chal’s
dominance to force through an 11-7, 6-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-4 victory,
sealing a place in the quarter-final for the third tournament
running.
A difficult test against number one seed Rex Hedrick lies in wait
for Eain Yow after the Australian World No.56 comfortably disposed
of South Korean qualifier Ko Youngjo.
Elvinn Keo, the man Eain Yow beat to win the Malaysian Squash Tour
II title, will join his fellow Malaysian in the quarter-final after
he scalped number three seed Tayyab Aslam in a big win. Keo
dominated the 34-minute encounter and fully deserved his 3-0 victory
which has set up a last eight match with Chi Him Wong, who saw off
Mohd Syafiq Kamal.
Elsewhere, Carlos Cornes Ribadas and Bernat Jaume will face off in
an all-Spanish quarter-final matchup after they rose to respective
wins against Valentino Bong and Khawaja Adil Maqbool.
Second seed Piedro Schweertman and Iker Pajares Bernabeu will meet
in the other quarter-final fixture after Schweertman defeated
Jordan’s Ahmad Al-Saraj 3-1, while Pajares prevailed over Addeen
Idrakie.
