ID :
376097
Mon, 08/03/2015 - 09:15
Auther :

M'sia Breeze Into Semi-Final Of 2015 World Junior Squash C'Ships

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian girls' squash team moved into the semi-final stage of the 2015 World Junior Squash Championships after a hard fought 2-1 win over New Zealand in a quarter-final encounter at the Squashtime Centre in Eindhoven, Netherlands, early Monday. Andrew Cross's charges are expected to face a mammoth task against defending champion Egypt in the semi-final match late Monday. Egypt, the six-time world champions, had disposed of seventh seed India 2-0 in another last-eight match. In the match against New Zealand, Zoe Foo Yuk Han gave Malaysia a perfect start by defeating Juee Bhide 11-3, 11-9, 11-8 but Eleanor Epke drew level after edging Malaysia's top junior player S. Sivasangari 9-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-8, 12-14 in a 46-minute match. Andrea Lee, who played in the deciding match, turned out to be the saviour for Malaysia by outclassing Abbie Palmer 11-6, 8-11, 10-12, 11-4, 14-12 in an hour-long match. On the victory, Cross said he was truly delighted with the blistering performance by his young charges but he was not putting a huge hope in the semi-final match against the Egyptian side who triumphed six times in the tournament, in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. "We got a good start, then Siva (Sivasangari) went two down but came back to get match ball and served out, which didn’t make me feel good! The decider was such a close match. At the end, they were both hitting it hard, keeping it tight but we were lucky enough to win it. "Against Egypt, it’s going to be difficult, but it’s going to be a good experience for our girls – they’re all going to be able to play in two years’ time, so that’s what they’re here for, to get experience against the best in the world," he was quoted as saying in the tournament website, www.wsfworldjuniors.com. Earlier, Malaysia had defeated hosts Netherlands 2-0 to be confirmed as the Group D champion. Another semi-final fixture will see battle between Group C champion England and Group B champion the United States. England, who are five-time champions, defeated 2005 champion Hong Kong while the United States edged Canada, both with 2-0 wins. -- BERNAMA

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