Kah Yan ready to give a good fight against world No. 28 ranked Aifa

Tough hurdle ahead: Ooi Kah Yan defeated Teoh Liyen in straight sets in the national championships yesterday.

PETALING JAYA: Ooi Kah Yan is bracing for the worst in her next match after getting past her opening hurdle in the national championships at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.

Kah Yan defeated Teoh Liyen in straight games 13-11, 11-7, 11-2 in 23 minutes yesterday.

Waiting in the second round is world No. 28 and second seed Aifa Azman, who received a first-round bye yesterday.

Kah Yan, currently ranked 106th in the world, is expecting a tough match.

“I didn’t really start well today (yesterday), I made a few errors early on. However, as the more rallies we played, my game got better,” said the 21-year-old.

“Aifa has very sharp skills and has quick shots. It’s hard to play against her because she takes the ball very early.

“I haven’t beaten her in a long time, the last time was probably when we were in the juniors.

“I’ll give it my best shot and see how it goes,” added Kah Yan.

Top seed S. Sivasangari, who was also given a bye, will face K. Sehveetrraa in the second round today. The latter had beaten K. Vitrikashenie 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 yesterday.Goh Zhi Xuan, who defeated Nur Maisara Mohd Azlan 7-11, 11-4, 11-5, (retired), will face Aifa’s sister Aina for a place in the quarter-finals.

U. Thanusaa also advanced after downing Anrie Goh 13-11, 11-4, 12-10 and will next play Lai Wen Li, who had a bye.

Rachel Arnold, the third to fourth seed, is set to face K. Vinikasheinie in the second round. The latter had defeated Angie Ooi 7-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-7.

On the men’s side, Nathan Kueh set-up a second round encounter against top seeded Ng Eain Yow (bye) after downing C. Ameeshenraj 11-4, 15-13, 11-5.

Second seed Ivan Yuen will face Harith Danial Jefri after the latter dispatched off Hi Jia Rong 11-5, 11-8, 11-5.

Yale University student Siow Yee Xian also booked his spot in the second round after downing S. Sunil Kumar 11-9, 11-6, 11-6.

Yee Xian, a two-time Asian junior champion, will next face joint third-fourth seed Addeen Idrakie.

Syafiq Mohd Kamal (bye), seeded third to fourth, is up against Amir Amirul Azhar next.

Amir downed Ishant Shah 13-11, 6-11, 11-3, 14-12 in their opening encounter.