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London Squash Classic: Sivasangari lands in final, ending M’sian drought since Nicol David’s 2015 | Scoop
Malaysia’s S. Sivasangari (pic) has broken her losing streak against Nele Gilis in yesterday’s London Squash Classic semi-final match, advancing to the final expected to be later today. – @PSAWorldTour X pic, April 1, 2024
Sports

London Squash Classic: Sivasangari lands in final, ending M’sian drought since Nicol David’s 2015

World number 16 breaks losing streak against Belgium’s Nele Gilis after intense 94-minute battle

Main Author Image
Faizal Salim
Updated
8:00 AM MYT

 

KUALA LUMPUR — National women’s squash player S. Sivasangari pulled off another upset at the London Squash Classic after defeating world number four Nele Gilis 3-2 in the semi-finals last night, advancing to the final later today. 

The victory makes her the first Malaysian women’s player to reach the tournament’s final since Datuk Nicol David in 2015. 

On Saturday, the world number 16 sent the world’s top-ranked Nour El Sherbini home in the quarter-finals. 

Going into the match, Sivasangari had lost to Belgium’s Gilis in their three previous meetings. 

The tournament’s fourth seed pushed the Kedahan hard before coming out on top in a hard-fought 94-minute battle. 

The semis were played in a best-of-five format, as opposed to previous rounds, which were best-of-three. Seventh-seeded Sivasangari triumphed 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9 to advance to her first final of the year. 

“That felt like five hours on the court! It’s crazy, I’ve played Nele three times and lost to her three times, it’s always close. 

“When I had match balls and couldn’t convert…but I’m just so happy. 

“Nele is a fighter. She fights for every point like we saw in the fourth. I spoke to Jesse (Engelbrecht), my mental coach, and just tried to forget that as quickly as possible and just reset in the fifth. 

“I kept believing in myself, staying focused and I’m just glad to make it,” said the 25-year-old to the PSA World Tour. 

Sivasangari, who was involved in a road accident in 2022, added that she tried to mix things up and move Gilis around the court, but the resilient 28-year-old was tenacious to every ball. 

“I tried to stay with my gameplan, there were a few errors here and there, but I tried to place the ball at the crucial times, and thank God it went in! 

“It’s been tough in the year-and-a-half since the accident, but I’ve had my family’s and coaches’ support, and my sponsors too, they kept believing in me, which made me believe in myself.  

“There were times I doubted myself, but I tried to push hard and take it a day at a time, and the hard work is paying off.  

“At this stage, when it was 2-2, I think it was the mental strength that was going to take you far. I knew I was there with the top-10 players, but it was the mental side that I had to work on. But it’s going well with Jesse and paid off today,” she added.  

She will meet the winner of the match between Egyptians Nouran Gohar and Hania El Hammamy in the final. – April 1, 2024 

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