National squash player Sivasangari springs surprise by beating World No.10 in Egypt

Malaysia’s S. Sivasangari (pic) beat Tesni Evans from Wales in the second round of the El Gouna International Squash Open in Egypt.

KUALA LUMPUR: National squash player S. Sivasangari sprang a surprise when she beat the world No. 10, Tesni Evans from Wales 3-2 in the second round of the El Gouna International Squash Open in Egypt.

Ranked 36th in the world, Sivasangari recorded scores of 11-4, 5-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-6 to go into the third round of the competition, according to the Professional Squash Association website.

The 22 -year-old who is currently based in the United States, however, will be facing a stiffer challenge as she is scheduled to meet world No. 2, Nouran Gohar of Egypt tomorrow.

“Obviously I played very well in the first game, I was really warmed up and very comfortable. But in the second and third, I was giving her plenty of errors. She was not winning, I was just giving her points and it was very frustrating.

“From the fourth game on, I told myself I had the fitness, so I was just going to keep pushing the ball back even if I had the opportunity to volley. That worked well, the rallies were going longer, and I think she was feeling it too. It’s a good win, so I’m happy to be back,” Sivasangari was quoted as saying on the website.

The Kedah-born player’s record has been rather good in Egypt where she had her first win against Amanda Sobhy who was among the world’s top 10 players, at the PSA Women’s World Squash Championship in October 2019.