Ivan Yuen and Rachel Arnold won the men's and women's competitions in the SRAM PSA 7 squash championship in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.
PETALING JAYA: Twenty seven teams will contest this year’s WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship, the most since 2013, in Kuala Lumpur next month.
Eight years ago, 31 countries participated in the biennial event in France.
The tournament will see a four-man squad from each country battle it out in a best-of-three match. The matches will be held at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil from 7-12 Dec.
The event will be the first competition in the country to involve foreign participation since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Five-time winners Egypt, boasting seven world’s top 10 players including No. 1 Ali Farag, are favourites to defend their crown for the third successive time.
Their closest contender are five-time winners England, who will be out to recapture the title they last won in 2013 and France who are seeking a first-ever championship.
With home advantage, Malaysia are also hoping to do well. They will go into the tournament hoping to build on two last 16 and a quarter-final appearance in the last three tournaments.
The SRAM president Gerard Monteiro said: “We are delighted to welcome some of the world’s finest players to Malaysia.
“We at SRAM look forward to delivering an exciting, safe and competitive tournament and I wish the best of luck to Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng and his teammates, and to all teams competing.
“I am sure that all in attendance will leave with fond memories of incredible squash and of our famous Malaysian hospitality.”
The only other two nations to have won the tournament, Australia and Pakistan, are also in attendance.
Australia, the most successful team in the history of the tournament with eight titles will be hoping for a major upset after a 10th placed finish in 2019 as will six-time winners Pakistan who are without a title since 1993.
Meanwhile in the SRAM PSA 7 squash championships, top seed Ivan Yuen claimed his third straight title when he defeated Addeen Idrakie 11-4, 12-10, 11-6 on Tuesday.
Ivan, the national No. 2, also bagged the PSA 5 and 6 events and will be full of confidence ahead of the Malaysian Open from Nov 23-27.
