BIRMINGHAM – There will be no glitter of gold for Malaysia in women’s squash doubles of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games after both their representatives crashed out of the semi-finals today.
The country’s top pair of Aifa Azman-Rachel Arnold lost 1-2 to England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters at the Squash and Hockey Centre of the University of Birmingham here.
The Malaysians started well by winning the first set 11-8 but failed to keep up the momentum in the second when they lost 6-11.
In the deciding set, the Malaysian pair tried to keep pace in the early stages, but their challenge fizzled out to lose 9-11.
Earlier, another Malaysian pair, Chan Yi Wei-Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi, failed to match defending champions Joelle King-Amanda Landers-Murphy of New Zealand when they went down 9-11, 7-11.
However, there is consolation for the Malaysian camp as they are assured of the bronze in the third-placing playoff between the two losing pairs tomorrow.
When met by reporters, Aifa said despite failing to make the final, she was satisfied with qualifying for the semi-finals in her games debut.
“We played our usual game (although facing a home pair) without any pressure. We enjoyed the game. Although it was tough, we fought till the end,” said the 20-year-old player.
Rachel said although she just teamed up with Aifa about four weeks ago, they had struck up a good understanding for this tournament.
Rachel was supposed to partner S. Sivasangari for the games, but the latter had to withdraw after getting injured in an accident on the Maju Expressway last June. – Bernama, August 7, 2022
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