World No.1 Nicol David (right) is expected to meet compatriot and national No.2 Low Wee Wern in the final of the World Games at Cali, Colombia.
PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Nicol David is looking forward to the opportunity of facing national No. 2 Low Wee Wern in the World Games squash competition which starts today at Cali, Columbia.
The seven-time world champion, who is seeking to defend her World Games gold from the 2011 edition at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is the top seed and the clear favourite.
The tournament, however, lost some glamour as non of the top Egyptian and English players such as world No. 3 Raneem El Weleily and world No. 2 Laura Massaro are competing.
In their absence, Wee Wern, who is ranked sixth in the world is the second seed and should progress to the final to face Nicol. Holland’s world No. 9 Natalie Grinham, runner-up from Kaohsiung, is the only other top-10 ranked player taking part in Cali.
Despite the lack of big names in the Games, Nicol, who also won gold in the 2005 edition, in Duisberg, Germany, is still equally pumped to put on a winning performance and make a comeback since she lost in the British Open final to Massaro back in May.
“This is my first time in Colombia and I’m really excited to be amongst other athletes at the World Games competing for their respective countries,” said Nicol.
“It’s also great for Malaysia, to have both their women players – Wee Wern and myself – as the top two seeds in the tournament.
“It’s definitely a bonus if all goes well and we get to face each other in the final,” added Nicol.
The Penangite, who turns 30 next month, has a first round bye and will probably face joint ninth-16th seed Franziska Hennes of Germany in the second round.
A win will probably pit her against towering Englishwoman Sarah-Jane Perry in the quarter-finals with fourth seed Camille Serme of France awaiting in the semi-finals.
Wee Wern on the other hand also starts with a bye and will be up against Pakistan’s Maria Toor Pakay in the second round.
She is likely to meet Australia’s Donna Urquhart in the quarter-finals with Grinham a potential semi-final opponent.
Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s event will be led by veteran national No. 1 Ong Beng Hee, who also has a first round bye before facing German player Raphael Kendra in the second round.
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