A Day After Gold, Eain Yow Leads Malaysia's Squash Men to Top of Group C
Malaysia's men beat Thailand and Qatar 3-0 to top Group C, while the top-seeded women began their title defence by beating Macau.
Ng Eain Yow won the men's singles gold on Sunday. On Monday (28 September) he was back on court for the team event and helped Malaysia's men into the quarter-finals of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Malaysia beat Thailand 3-0 and then Qatar 3-0 at Nagoya Kinjo-Futo Arena to win Group C. The men had been seeded in the third-to-fourth band, so topping the group is a strong start.
Two clean sweeps for the men
Against Thailand, the men didn't need Eain Yow. Utusan Malaysia reported these results:
- Mohammad Syafiq Kamal beat Arkaradet Arkarahirunya 11-3, 11-3, 11-5
- Sanjay Jeeva beat Ravipun Limphaiboon 11-3, 11-0, 11-4
- C. Ameeshenraj beat Thitivuth Yingcharoen 11-3, 11-1, 11-4
In the evening against Qatar, Syafiq again played first and beat Sayed Amjad 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 in 10 minutes. Eain Yow then beat Salem Al-Malki 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 in 15 minutes, which confirmed first place in the group. Ameeshenraj completed the 3-0 by beating Ali Al-Darwish 11-7, 11-2, 11-1.
Malaysia used the 3-1-2 playing order, so the third-string player goes on first. It means Eain Yow, the No. 1, plays second.
Women start their title defence
Malaysia won the women's team gold at Hangzhou 2022 and are top seeds this time. They started with a 3-0 win over Macau:
- Rachel Arnold beat Cao Chi Cheng 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 in 18 minutes
- Aira Azman beat Liu Kwai Chai 11-5, 11-2, 11-2
- Aifa Azman beat Yeung Wai Ling 11-6, 11-3, 11-4
"It was a good start for us today, I think today was all about staying focused," Arnold told World Squash.
Utusan said the win took the women into the quarter-finals. Their last Group A match was against Singapore on Tuesday (29 September), and a win there would confirm top spot.
The top-seeded women's squad, as listed by World Squash, also includes Sivasangari Subramaniam. She retained her singles title on Sunday.
Rivals to watch
India are the top seeds and defending champions in the men's event. They opened with 3-0 wins over China and South Korea, according to World Squash. Hong Kong also won their first two matches, beating Mongolia and Japan. In the women's event, India won close ties against China and Japan on the first day.
The schedule
The team events run from 28 September to 2 October, World Squash said, so the medals will be decided by Friday. After Sivasangari's and Eain Yow's singles golds, and the mixed doubles bronze won by Ameeshenraj and Rachel Arnold, team medals would add to squash's haul of two golds and a bronze.
Key takeaways
- Malaysia's men beat Thailand 3-0 and Qatar 3-0 on 28 September to win Group C.
- Eain Yow played the day after winning singles gold and beat Qatar's Salem Al-Malki in 15 minutes.
- The top-seeded women beat Macau 3-0 and played Singapore on 29 September for top spot in Group A.
- Team medals will be decided by 2 October.
FAQ
Q: What is the 3-1-2 order? A: The team's third-string player plays first, then the No. 1, then the No. 2.
Q: Did Malaysia win the women's team title in Hangzhou? A: Yes. Malaysia are the defending women's team champions and the top seeds in Aichi-Nagoya.
Q: When do the squash team events finish? A: The competition runs until 2 October.
Sources: Utusan Malaysia, World Squash