On 1 April, Malaysian national squash player S.Sivasangari beat Hania El Hammamy of Egypt to become the first Malaysian to win a gold-level tournament since Datuk Nicol David back in 2015 in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world tour.
The world no.13 beat the world no.2 11-9, 5-11, 13-11, 12-14, 11-8 during a thrilling London classic final. She had previously eliminated world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini of Egypt and world No. 4 Nele Gilis of Belgium in the same tournament. She will also be awarded a cash prize of US$17,598 (approximately RM83,582).
Nicol David Wants Sivasangari to be her own player
As reported by The Star, eight-time world champion Nicol had stayed up to watch the final. “My wish is that she will be seen as her own self and player. I believe she has all the potential to write her own story.”
"She’s got a lot of squash sense, and her awareness of the court is immaculate. That makes her a unique player. She can go as far as she wants to, and all we have to do is encourage her by keeping her motivated,” she added.
Let’s hope Sivasangari can carve her own path and make the country proud, too!
Praise from PMX
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also took to his Facebook page to personally congratulate the player, noting her historic win. Besides extending his well wishes, he also said that he hoped this win would be the first of many future victories.
Meanwhile, Minister of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh also took to her X page to congratulate the newly crowned champion.
Let’s hope they’ll make squash an official sport at the Olympics in the near future! We’re proud of you, Sivansangari!
Featured Image Credit: Sivasangari | Instagram