Guts taking Rachel far in Irish Open

PETALING JAYA: Gutsy Rachel Arnold stormed into the quarter-finals of the Irish Open in Dublin with a convincing 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 win over Anna Kimberley of England.

The fourth seeded 26-year-old Rachel, who had just recovered from Covid-19 barely a week ago, turned in an impressive performance on Wednesday to remain the sole Malaysian standing in the tournament.

“So far, Rachel has been coming along fine in the tournament. She played well yesterday and I’m hoping to see her continue doing this,” said national deputy head coach Andrew Cross yesterday.

Meanwhile, Malaysians Chan Yiwen and Lai Wen Li fell in the second round.

Yiwen lost 3-11, 3-11, 2-11 to top seed Emily Whitlock of Wales while Wen Li fell 7-11, 7-11, 5-11 to third seed Lucy Turmel of England.

In the men’s event, Ivan Yuen fell in the second round to sixth seed Declan James of England 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-7 while Mohd Syafiq Kamal’s campaign also came to an end at the same stage after losing 6-11, 6-11, 8-11 to Scotland’s Greg Lobban.