SINGAPORE: Trying to live up to the expectations of a family filled with well-known squash players can be a tall order for any budding player.
But 19-year-old Rachel Arnold (pic, above) – the baby of the family – passed the test with flying colours after beating team-mate Vanessa Raj 11-13, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 to win the SEA Games gold medal Kallang Squash and Tennis Centre.
That set the ball rolling as Malaysia also bagged a second gold – with Sanjay Singh Chal (pic, above) beating Mohd Addeen Idrakie 11-7, 11-3, 12-10 in another all-Malaysian final.
With elder sister Delia, the national No. 3 and world No. 15, coaching her and big brother Timothy, a former national player, shouting encouragements from the stands, Rachel subdued Vanessa in 32 minutes.
“It was quite tough because Vanessa is a very good player and I had to play well to win,” said Rachel, who packed off Singapore’s lone hope Mao Shiyuan in the semi-finals.
“I’m really happy because it’s my first SEA Games and I got a gold medal as well!
“And I have my siblings here too. It means a lot that they came all the way from KL just to support me.
“Hopefully I can go for a second gold in the team event.”
Men’s top seed Sanjay had no problem overcoming second seed Adden, who was a spent force after a tough five-setter in the semi-finals earlier in the day.
“It’s a really sweet win and a good boost to my career,” said Sanjay.
“What’s not nice is beating my best friend and training partner ... I just had to be professional about it.”
