Jeeva Jettisons Al-Tamimi To Make Maiden Silver QF At NZ Open

Malaysia's Sanjay Jeeva reached the quarter-finals of a PSA Squash Tour Silver event for the first time as the world No.65 shocked world No.22 Abdulla Al-Tamimi of Qatar on day three of the New Zealand Open at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch.

In an entertaining bout between mercurial shot-makers, it was No.8 seed Al-Tamimi who took the lead with a 12-10 win.

Jeeva stuck to his attacking game plan, delivering a barrage of winners and being rewarded with 11-9, 11-6 victories as he sensed an upset.

Al-Tamimi played a far more disciplined game in game four, only playing the safest attacking shots as he successfully neutralised the left-hander to take the match into a fifth game with an 11-5 win.

In a gripping finale, Jeeva continued hit winners, but avoided forcing it. After an even early spell, the pressure Jeeva was exerting began to tell and mistakes began to flow from Al-Tamimi's racket, with Jeeva pulling away from 5-5 to earn five match balls at 10-5.

Al-Tamimi saved one, but could not complete a great escape with Jeeva - after a nervous wait from the video referee - storming into his maiden Silver quarter-final with an 11-6 victory.

"It's definitely the biggest win of my career," Jeeva said afterwards. "I've not had the chance to play many top 50 players. This is the first time I played Abdullah and he's the highest ranked player that I've beaten, so far!"

Jeeva will take on Malaysian compatriot Eain Yow Ng in the quarters after the No.3 seed ended the run of 18-year-old local wildcard Oliver Dunbar, ranked 255 in the world, with a convincing win in straight games.

Jeeva and Ng were not the only members of the Malaysian contingent to enjoy success today, with women's No.5 seed Sivasangari Subramaniam and No.8 seed Rachel Arnold also progressing.

In an uneven performance, Sivasangari battled back from 1/2 down to overcome compatriot Aira Azman and set up a quarter-final clash with Rowan Elaraby, while Arnold got the better of Hong Kong's Ka Yi Lee.

Arnold will take on 17-year-old world No.8 Amina Orfi, with the No.2 seed coming through an all-Egyptian encounter with Hana Moataz after saving eight game-balls in an epic 28-minute-long game to complete a 3/1 victory.

For the home crowd, defending champion Paul Coll provided the perfect tonic after Dunbar's loss, with the top seed - who spent many of his junior years in Christchurch - beginning his 2025 New Zealand Open campaign with a comprehensive win over Japan's Ryunosuke Tsukue.