Singh Soars To Maiden Bronze Semi At Malaysia Cup

Amongst the exciting matches on a blockbuster day of quarter-final action in the 2024 ACE Malaysia Cup, India's Abhay Singh took down fellow countrymen Velavan Senthilkumar to reach his first-ever Bronze-level semi-final.

Also, home favourite and top seed Sivasangari Subramaniam has reached the semi-finals for a second consecutive year with a win over Malaysian compatriot Aifa Azman.

In the last match of the day in Kuala Lumpur, a 71-minute thriller saw unseeded Abhay Singh came out on top of a close-fought encounter with Indian compatriot Velavan Senthilkumar. The world No.58 reached the quarter-final with an upset victory over No.4 seed Abdulla Al-Tamimi, and looked in fine form as he battled against his countryman into a tie-break in game one.

It was Senthilkumar that edged the first game 14-12 to take a lead in the match after a 23-minute opening game that took a physical toll on both players.

Singh looked in his element in game two, surging ahead on the scoreline in a stark contrast to the narrow leads of the first game, ultimately taking the game 11-5 and levelling the match at 1-1.

In long game, Senthilkumar had the initiative, leading throughout the match. Singh started playing more to the front as the movement started to slow, and his accuracy finally gave him the edge as he took the third game 12-10 to take the lead in the match for the first time.

"Every time I play him I have to tell myself that it's going to be an absolute ripper and I have to be ready for it," said Singh after taking the fourth game to win the match. "He keeps going, he's such a beast and I'm just so happy to have come through that.

"It's something I've been working on at Pontefract to keep it straight, make sure you hit your lines and you don't hit errors and I think I've done that in the last three matches especially with Al-Tamimi. These guys are so quick and they're going to cut you off around the middle and working with James [Willstrop] and Campy [David Campion] to put together a bit of a game plan, it's paying off and I'm so happy to be in my first semi-final.

"I hope some of the fans are on my side tomorrow! It's a pleasure to be able to play tomorrow - a lot of people would have told me I wouldn't have been able to beat Al-Tamimi but that's not why I'm here - I want to win every match I play and play positively. I know what Yow Ng is capable of, there's no pressure on me and I'm going to go out there and do what I do and we'll see how that goes."

In the second women's match of the day, Malaysian No.1 seed Sivasangari defeated fellow countrywoman Aifa Azman to earn her place in the Malaysia Cup semi-final for a second time.

Azman came out with intent as she pushed her compatriot from the outset to a 7-4 lead, but Sivasangari showed her composure as she slowly whittled down the lead, eventually taking a 1/0 advantage in the match.

Sivasangari returned to the court and the difference was start. Azman struggled to keep up with the top seed as the Malaysia No.1 rapidly took the second and third game 11-3, 11-6 to confidently earn her place in tomorrow's semi-finals where she faces Scotland's Georgia Adderley.

Speaking after the match, Sivasangari said: "Playing your teammate, it's always a bit more pressure, I think on me especially as I'm seeded No.1. I'm just happy to be winning. It may not be my best squash, but I'm just happy to be winning in three."

On her semi-final clash, the Malaysian said, "It was a close 3/1 last week [at the China Open]. Hopefully I can get my game plan going. She's a tough player, she runs around a lot, but I just want to stick on my game plan and focus on what I've got to do tomorrow."

Elsewhere, Malaysian No.2 seed Eain Yow Ng progressed in the men's event after a tough 3/0 win over Spain's Bernat Jaume, and No.3 seed and home favourite Rachel Arnold overcame England's Katie Maliff in the last women's semi-final to make it three Malaysian players in the last four across the men's and women's competitions.