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Sivasangari emerges as Malaysia’s top squash gold prospect at Asian Games
🇲🇾 Malaysia /Sports

Sivasangari emerges as Malaysia’s top squash gold prospect at Asian Games

From Utusan Malaysia · () Malay

Translated from Malay and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Malaysia’s Squash Racquets Association is targeting two gold medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with world No. 5 S. Sivasangari leading the challenge.
  • The national squad will compete in all events, with Ng Eain Yow and sisters Aira and Aifa Azman among the main medal contenders.
  • SRAM president Gerard Monteiro said the association wants to support injured player Harith Danial Jefri’s recovery without rushing his rehabilitation.

Malaysia is placing its strongest squash hopes on world No. 5 S. Sivasangari as the national team targets two gold medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan.

The Games will run from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia president Gerard Monteiro said Sivasangari and world No. 18 Ng Eain Yow will lead the country’s challenge, with Malaysia entering every event: men’s and women’s singles, mixed doubles, and men’s and women’s team competitions.

Monteiro said the team’s formal commitment is two gold medals. He acknowledged the pressure after Malaysia returned from the previous Asian Games with three golds, while the Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Sports Council expect at least three. “We will do our best,” he told reporters at the National Sports Institute.

Our commitment is actually two gold medals. Of course there is pressure on us because at the previous Asian Games, we returned with three golds. The Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Sports Council expect at least three gold medals, but we have to be realistic. We will do our best.

— Gerard MonteiroThe SRAM president explained the team’s medal target and the pressure created by Malaysia’s previous Asian Games performance.

Malaysia also sees medal opportunities in the singles, mixed doubles and women’s team events. Sisters Aira Azman, ranked 21st in the world, and Aifa Azman, ranked 22nd, are part of the squad’s hopes. Sivasangari and Eain Yow are considered the leading choices, while the mixed doubles pairing is also viewed as a top contender.

The individual and mixed doubles finals are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26. Monteiro said SRAM did not want to set targets so aggressively that they added pressure to the players, although he did not rule out matching the previous Games’ achievement.

Monteiro made his remarks while visiting young national player Harith Danial Jefri at the National Sports Institute. Harith is recovering from anterior cruciate ligament surgery at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM last week. SRAM will provide full support and arrange his rehabilitation carefully, with the aim of helping him recover before the 2027 Southeast Asian Games.

We will not rush him. We will make sure the rehabilitation programme is properly arranged so that he can recover well and it does not happen again in the future.

— Gerard MonteiroMonteiro described SRAM’s approach to Harith Danial Jefri’s recovery from ACL surgery.
About this summary

Originally published by Utusan Malaysia in Malay. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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