Women team led by Delia win Asian title in style
THE STAR
(from left) Rachel Arnold, Teh Min Jie, S. Sivasangari and Delia Arnold with their medals after winning the Asian Team Squash Championships.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia defied the odds to win the women’s title at the Asian Team Squash Championships for a record ninth time.
Without eight-time world champion Nicol David and Low Wee Wern in the squad, third seeds Malaysia only had an outside chance of retaining the title in the biennial championships.
But 17-year-old S. Sivasangari and captain Delia Arnold rose to the occasion, winning their matches to give Malaysia a superb 2-0 victory over second seeds India in Sunday’s final at the National Taiwan University.
Despite losing 2-1 to Malaysia in the group stages, India came into the final high on confidence after trouncing top seeds Hong Kong in the semi-finals.
But world No. 64 Sivasangari delivered a solid performance to upset world No. 81 Sachika Ingale 11-7, 11-6, 12-10 for a 1-0 lead.
Malaysia then needed world No. 15 Delia to deliver against world No. 13 Joshna Chinappa. And the national No. 2 put up a solid performance to seal a 9-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-9 win and the crown for Malaysia.
“I’m quite speechless now. It’s quite surprising to beat India twice. It’s really an amazing feeling,” said Delia.
“It was great that Sivasangari won the first match to give us a good start. I knew we just needed one more win after that.
“It was still really tough because the court was hot and bouncy today. I was feeling dizzy out there.
“But I just managed to hang in there and kept the rallies going. The win was a real bonus for us as we handled the pressure well,” added Delia.
(fromt left) Teh Min Jie, S. SIvasaganri, Delia Arnold and Rachel Arnold celebrate after winning the Asian Team Squash Championships.
National coach Ong Beng Hee was glad his gamble of fielding Sivasangari paid off handsomely.
“We took a risk in playing Sivasangari. If she had lost, we would have been in trouble,” said Beng Hee.
“But she did well and Delia certainly led by example by showing great fighting spirit,” added Beng Hee.
Malaysia’s previous eight wins were in 1992, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2014.
In the men’s final, Pakistan extended their dominance by beating top seeds Hong Kong 2-0 in the final. It was Pakistan’s 15th title in 18 editions.
RESULTS
Final
Men: Pakistan bt Hong Kong 2-0.
Women: Malaysia bt India 2-0 (S. Sivasangari bt Sachika Ingale 11-7, 11-6, 12-10; Delia Arnold bt Joshna Chinappa 9-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-9).
