Sivasangari sweeps Nele Gilis to reach Egyptian Open quarter-finals as Yasshmita and Eain Yow bow out

S. Sivasangari is the last Malaysian left at the CIB Egyptian Squash Open after the world-class event in Giza reached its quarter-final stage. The fourth seed needed just 33 minutes on Monday, 12 October, to beat Belgium's Nele Gilis 11-5, 11-6, 11-8, while lucky loser Yasshmita Jadishkumar and men's 16th seed Ng Eain Yow were both knocked out in the last 16.

Sivasangari in control against Gilis

Sivasangari never trailed in a game against the world No. 12, closing out each one with something to spare. It extended her winning run against Gilis to four matches, following victories at the 2025 Qatar Classic and, this year, at the Windy City Open and the Australian Open, according to Bernama.

The win was cleaner than her opener. After a first-round bye, the Malaysian dropped the first game against Egyptian wildcard Nadia Mahmoud in round two before winning 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5.

Next up is a quarter-final against seventh seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir of Egypt. Aboelkheir needed five games to get past England's 12th seed Jasmine Hutton, winning 5-11, 11-2, 11-5, 7-11, 11-3 in 45 minutes.

Yasshmita's run ends against Watanabe

Yasshmita's week had already been longer than planned. She lost the all-Malaysian qualifying final to Xin Ying Yee, came into the main draw as a lucky loser, beat Egypt's Mariam Metwally 11-9, 12-10, 11-7, and then came back from two games down to stun 15th seed Farida Mohamed 3-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9.

The last 16 proved a step too far. Japan's fifth seed Satomi Watanabe beat her 11-3, 11-2, 11-6 in 24 minutes. Even so, two main-draw wins at one of the sport's biggest events are a strong return for a player who started the week in qualifying.

Coll too strong for Eain Yow

In the men's draw, Eain Yow opened with a tidy 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 win over Scotland's Greg Lobban in 48 minutes. That set up a last-16 meeting with New Zealand's second seed Paul Coll, who won 11-6, 11-4, 11-3 in 43 minutes.

Coll now plays France's fifth seed Victor Crouin in the quarter-finals. The other men's quarter-finals are top seed Mostafa Asal against Mohamad Zakaria, Karim Gawad against Marwan ElShorbagy, and Diego Elias against Joel Makin.

How the seven Malaysians fared

Malaysia had seven players in the Giza main draws, two men and five women. Qualifier Joachim Chuah beat Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 before taking a game off Asal in an 11-3, 11-6, 6-11, 11-3 second-round defeat.

Three Malaysian women went out in round one. Xin Ying Yee lost to England's Lucy Turmel 11-9, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5, and Aira Azman was beaten in five games by Hong Kong's Tomato Ho. Rachel Arnold lost in four games to qualifier Ruqayya Salem, who went on to beat ninth seed Tinne Gilis before losing to Nouran Gohar.

That leaves Sivasangari to carry Malaysia's hopes into the last eight. The other women's quarter-finals are top seed Hania El Hammamy against Watanabe, Nour ElSherbini against Gohar, and second seed Amina Orfi against England's Georgina Kennedy.

Key takeaways

• Sivasangari beat Nele Gilis 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 in 33 minutes, her fourth straight win over the Belgian.
• She faces Egypt's seventh seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir in the quarter-finals.
• Lucky loser Yasshmita Jadishkumar won two main-draw matches before losing 11-3, 11-2, 11-6 to Satomi Watanabe.
• Ng Eain Yow beat Greg Lobban but lost 11-6, 11-4, 11-3 to second seed Paul Coll.
• Sivasangari is the only one of Malaysia's seven main-draw players still in the event.

FAQ

Who does Sivasangari play in the Egyptian Open quarter-finals? She plays Egypt's Fayrouz Aboelkheir, the seventh seed, who beat Jasmine Hutton in five games in the last 16.

How far did Yasshmita Jadishkumar go in Giza? She reached the last 16 as a lucky loser, beating Mariam Metwally and 15th seed Farida Mohamed before losing to Satomi Watanabe.

Which Malaysian men played in the main draw? Ng Eain Yow reached the last 16 before losing to Paul Coll, while qualifier Joachim Chuah lost to top seed Mostafa Asal in round two.

Sources: Bernama, Malay Mail, SquashInfo, CIB Egyptian Squash Open