PETALING JAYA: Squash player Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi is out to close the gap with the Azman sisters after capturing her first title of the year in the Ace Challenger Tour 12K event.
World No. 57 Ainaa crowned her superb form in the tournament with a confident 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 win over Egypt’s world No. 101 Hana Ismail in the final at the Jalan Duta Courts yesterday.
The Egyptian proved that she was no pushover when she had stunned Aifa Azman earlier in the last four.
Ainaa had defeated Hana in the quarter-finals of the Tuanku Muhriz Trophy recently and was determined to win her first title since capturing the Vikram Goyal Open in April last year.
Overall, it was the 22-year-old’s third title after winning the Hong Kong Squash PSA Challenge Cup in March last year.
Ainaa aims to edge closer to Aifa and her sister Aira, who are currently ranked No. 35 and No. 36 respectively.
“I’m grateful for this win. I finally won a title after so long,” said Ainaa.
“The first set was very close. Hana was leading 9-5 and I was rushing with my shots too much. This put me under pressure but I reset everything and stuck to the game plan and managed to turn it around.
“I knew I needed to stay focused from the beginning in the next sets and I did not give her much chance to score points.
“I discussed with my coaches on what needs to improve in my game during the off-season and I worked hard to get better.
“This win has given me a lift and I want to break into the world’s top 40 after this,” added Ainaa.
Ainaa showed great resilience after going through a tough time over the past year.
She was overlooked for the Hangzhou Asian Games last October and was not included in the Road to Gold programme.
Ainaa though refused to stay down for long and was determined to rediscover her best form.
She will next compete in a few tournaments in the United States next month. Men: S. Velavan (Ind) bt Noor Zaman (Pak) 11-5, 11-6, 11-9.
Women: Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi (Mas) bt Hana Ismail (Egy) 11-9, 11-4, 11-7.
