PETALING JAYA: Reaching the top 10 is probably the tip of the iceberg for S. Sivasangari (pic) as she will be looking at the bigger goal of trying to break into the top five next season.
On Monday, Sivasangari became only Malaysia’s third player to reach the top 10 - after squash legend Datuk Nicol David and Low Wee Wern – of the women’s Professional Squash Association (PSA) world rankings.
But she was quick to stress that reaching No. 10 is only the beginning as she intends to push for a top five spot in the next PSA season (2024-2025).
The first step, however, will be to reach the top eight, which will grant her seedings in PSA gold and platinum events and increase her chances of consistently reaching the last eight.
“Breaking into the top 10 was the small goal I had for this season and I’m happy to have achieved that but it’s not the end of the journey. I want to go further as I have more goals to chase,” said Sivasangari at the Jalan Duta courts yesterday.
“Being No. 10 is definitely not my final goal, as the next season is coming up as the British Open is the last event.
“So, for the next season, maybe I want to break into the top five. This is the goal each player aims for.
“I definitely want to be part of the top eight but it’s much better if I can hit the top five and I want to keep improving even more.”
There was also the further boost of being nominated for the PSA women’s Player of the Year award, alongside the top four professionals in the world rankings.
Egyptians Nour ElSherbini (No. 1), Nouran Gohar (No. 2) and Hania El Hammamy (No. 3) and American Olivia Weaver (No. 4) are the frontrunners but it was a huge recognition for Sivasangari to be included in the elite list.
The Sungai Petani-born Malaysian has made a spectacular return after the road accident in Kuala Lumpur in 2022 as she captured the bronze level Hong Kong Football Club Open and the gold level London Classic in the 2023-2024 season.
“It’s is good to be recognised as I think I did pretty well on my comeback this season and I intend to do even better in future tournaments,” said Sivasangari of the award nomination.
The Egyptians, especially Gohar who secured her first world title in Cairo on Saturday, look to be the favourites to secure the award.
However, national head coach Ajaz Azmat said that the award is based on voting that runs until May 27 on social media and also the votes polled by the PSA Awards Committee.
The awards committee is a group comprising selected influential former players, members of the media, tournament promoters and PSA Board representatives.
The fact that Sivasangari also has a following in the United States where she studies at the Cornell University and is based in New York could also give her an outside chance of winning the award.
“Squash fans throughout the world can vote and Sivasangari is quite popular not just in Malaysia but also in the US.
‘‘I’m sure she will get a lot of votes from her varsity community and squash followers over there also,” said Ajaz.
“Obviously, the awards committee will also have their say but no matter what happens, being nominated in the list that has the current top four players is a huge boost and recognition for her.’’
The winners will be announced during the PSA awards dinner in Birmingham on June 8.
