KUALA LUMPUR − Having gone almost two years without any international tournaments due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysian squash fans are in for a triple treat at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.
Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) president Gerard Monteiro said the squash extravaganza would kick off with the Malaysian Open (November 23-27), followed by Asian Team Championships (November 30-December 4) and conclude with the Men’s World Team Championship (December 7-11).
The Malaysian Open is also set to be the first sports event in the country to welcome the participation of foreign players since the pandemic hit Malaysian shores in early 2020.
For the 40th Malaysian Open − which has now been upgraded to a Professional Squash Association (PSA) Bronze category from a PSA Challenger Tour − a total of 16 men and 15 women ranked in the world’s top 40 are set to vie for the US$50,000 (RM208,875) winner’s purse for both categories.
“Leading the way in the men’s category is top-seeded world number 11 Miguel Rodriguez of Colombia, Asian individual champion Saurav Ghosal of India and Malaysian number one, defending champion Ng Eain Yow.
“Ivan Yuen, Muhammad Addeen Idrakie and Darren Rahul Pragasam will also be shouldering the local challenge while in the women’s category, national number one S. Sivasangari is seeded number 13,” he told a press conference here today.
Gerard said all three tournaments would be organised in accordance with strict compliance of the standard operating procedures (SOP) stipulated by the Health ministry (KKM) and that all players would undergo the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Covid-19 upon arrival.
“We are also ready to welcome the presence of spectators but it will be limited to 50 per cent of the venue capacity,” he added.
Meanwhile, SRAM coaching director Major (rtd) S. Maniam said the national players − fresh from their intensive training sessions as well as training and exposure stints in the United States and United Kingdom − were ready for the challenges ahead.
“We are targeting our players from both the men’s and women’s categories to make it into the finals and hope that fans will continue to support all the participants,” he said. – Bernama, November 18, 2021
