Sivasangari stuns world No 1 to reach London Squash Classic semis

 

National women’s squash champion S Sivasangari will meet world No 4 Nele Gilis of Belgium in a semi-final clash at the London Squash Classic today. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: National women’s squash champion S Sivasangari was on Cloud 9 last night after she stunned world No 1 Nour El Sherbini of Egypt in the quarter-finals of the inaugural London Squash Classic.

The 2022 Asian Games champion, ranked world No 16, took only 24 minutes to dispatch El Sherbini 11-9, 11-9 in the last eight of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour Gold event at Alexandra Palace, London.

It was her first victory against the seven-time world champion in three encounters.

“It’s crazy. I respect El Sherbini a lot, she’s the best on tour and is really talented. To beat a player like that, I had to be in my A game today,” Bernama quoted Sivasangari, 25, as saying.

The Malaysian is the first player outside the top 10 to beat El Sherbini since Annie Au of Hong Kong during the first round of the Cleveland Classic 2015 in Ohio.

Sivasangari will face another top 10 player in the tournament, Nele Gilis of Belgium, in a semi-final clash today. Gilis, ranked world No 4, came from behind to beat home player Gina Kenned, 6-11, 11-6, 11-3 in their quarter-final match. - FMT