Sivasangari, Farez and Syafiq strike gold in Amman

Sunday June 26, 2011 The Star
Sivasangari, Farez and Syafiq strike gold in Amman
By KNG ZHENG GUAN

PETALING JAYA: Rising star S. Sivasangari inspired Malaysia to three titles in the Asian Junior individual squash championships in Amman, Jordan, yesterday.

Sivasangari got the ball rolling when she defeated team-mate Andrea Lee 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10 to claim the girls’ Under-13 title.

Little dynamite: S. Sivasangari clinched the first gold for Malaysia by winning the girls’ Under-13 event.

It was a rematch of their Milo All Star Junior Open clash earlier this month, which Sivasangari also won 11-7, 3-11, 9-11, 11-2, 12-10 in a thrilling five-set final.

Yesterday, the 12-year-old from Alor Setar was in her element again, dominating the court and forcing Andrea into numerous unforced errors.

Then the in-form Mohd Farez Izwan got title number two when he beat local favourite Mohammad Alsarraj in the boys’ Under-13 final.

But it was not an easy match as the top-seeded Farez had to battle on two fronts – Alsarraj and the boisterous crowd – before winning 14-12, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5.

Mohd Syafiq Mohd Kamal then bagged the third title after upsetting team-mate and top seed Ng Eain Yow in the boys’ Under-15 final.

Syafiq played extremely well to beat British Junior Open champion Eain Yow 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 15-13.

It could have been four titles but Jadeleen Lee fell 12-10, 13-15, 6-11, 6-11 to top seed Choi Uen Shan of Hong Kong in the girls’ Under-15 category.

National coach Raymond Arnold was extremely pleased with his young charges’ battling efforts.

“Sivasangari played very well to control the game. That made Andrea lose her focus and she made a lot of mistakes,” said Raymond in a telephone interview from Amman.

“As for Farez, it was not an easy match for him because he was not only playing against a very good opponent in Alsarraj but he was also up against the home crowd. Farez was under a lot of pressure.

“But I’m happy he managed to stay cool and stamp his authority in the match.

“We could have won four titles but Jadeleen came up against a physically stronger player and ran out of steam in the end. Still, she played very well. I’m not disappointed at all.”

Final Results

(Malaysian results only)

BOYS

Under-13: Mohd Farez Izwan bt Mohammad Alsarraj (Jor) 14-12, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5.

Under-15: Mohd Syafiq Mohd Kamal bt Ng Eain Yow 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 15-13.

GIRLS

Under-13: S.Sivasangari bt Andrea Lee 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10.

Under-15: Choi Uen Shan (Hkg) bt Jadeleen Lee 10-12, 15-13, 11-6, 11-6.