HANGZHOU – The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia is optimistic of the future based on the Hangzhou Asian Games achievement, the first Asiad in the post-Nicol David era.
Coaching director S. Maniam said the association is extremely pleased with the national squad’s medal haul of three golds, one silver and one bronze after the conclusion of squash events at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Squash Court here, yesterday
Despite not having squash legend Datuk Nicol David, after her retirement in 2019, the national team still managed to emerge as the top nation in the Asiad squash competition.
Commenting on the accomplishment of Ng Eain Yow, 25, and S. Sivasangari, 24, in clinching the men’s and women’s individual gold medals yesterday, he said both players are young and capable of contributing more to the country in the next few years.
Maniam also commended mixed doubles pair Mohammad Syafiq Mohd Kamal and Aifa Azman, who had to settle for silver after a hard-fought battle against top seeds Dipika Pallikal-Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu before going down 10-11, 10-11.
“In the next Asian Games, we will try to equal the results here. We will not rest on our laurels, we never have. We will always try to work as hard as we can to produce the results we need.
“Both Eain Yow and Siva are still young, they have at least one or two more Asian Games to go. We have young Aira Azman, who is in our team at only 19, while we already have some young players coming up in the men’s as well, so the future is definitely bright,” he said.
At the 2018 Games in Indonesia’s Jakarta and Palembang, the national team finished second behind Hong Kong with a 2-1-2 haul, while the best achievement was in 2010 in Guangzhou, China with a 3-1-2 feat.
Only four-gold medals were in competition previously, as the mixed doubles event just made its debut in Hangzhou. – October 6, 2023