PETALING JAYA: National squash player C. Ameeshenraj showed nerves of steel as he staged a brilliant comeback to storm into the semi-finals of the Tuanku Muhriz Trophy.
Yesterday, the world No. 87 Ameeshenraj was forced to dig deep, rallying from two games down to defeat world No. 98 Yassin Shohdy of Egypt 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-1, 11-7 in a thrilling 61-minute quarter-final clash at the S2 Sports Complex in Seremban.
It was a mentally draining match for Ameeshenraj, who admitted he buckled under pressure in the first two games before regaining his composure to turn the tables around.
"I am happy to get the win," said the 21-year-old Ameeshenraj.
"In the first two sets, he was playing very good squash and controlled the game well.
"I felt like I was on the back foot most of the time, as he did not give me any room to breathe, kept piling on the pressure and I kind of broke under the pressure.
"In the third set, I came in with a different mindset. I stayed calmer and focused on taking one point at a time.
"Slowly, I started to see him break down against my game and that gave me the confidence to push through.
"I think the most important thing was staying disciplined and focusing point by point.
"That was the real turning point of the match."
The win has extended Ameeshenraj’s unbeaten record against the Egyptian to three matches, following his victories at the Ace Challenger 12K Tour and the Western India last year.
It also marked Ameeshenraj’s best run in this home tourney, improving on his previous outings where he exited in the opening round in the inaugural 2022 edition and in the second round in both 2023 and 2024 editions.
Ameeshenraj will face another Egyptian Aly Hussein in the last four today.
Despite holding the higher ranking, Ameeshenraj will need to stay sharp as world No. 93 Aly conserved energy with a straightforward 11-8, 11-7, 11-3 victory over Malaysia’s Duncan Lee in another quarter-finals match.
