Rachel Arnold
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian No. 2 Rachel Arnold capped her rousing run in the US$75,000 (RM328,707) China Open by emerging victorious in the final for her biggest career title.
Rachel played her heart out to beat world No. 15 Farida Mohamed of Egypt 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 in 27 minutes to win her first title in five years at Shanghai Oriental Sports Center yesterday.
It was the world No. 30 Rachel's first appearance in the final of a Silver level Professional Squash Assocaition (PSA) event and she did not squander the opportunity.
The last title she won was the Malaysian Open five years ago.
It has been a great week for Rachel. She stunned Egypt's world No. 8 and top seed Rowan Elaraby in the quarter-finals on Friday and defeated two-time national champion Aira Azman 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 in the semis.
The 28-year-old Rachel said she was really focused in the final.
"I'm really happy with how I played in this tournament and hopefully more titles will come," said Rachel.
National chief coach Ajaz Azmat described it as a great win for Rachel in China Open.
"We are proud of Rachel who played a superb game of squash. She proved herself and I believe there is more to come for her," said the Pakistani coach.
