PETALING JAYA: National squash player Aifa Azman was forced to retire from the Qatar Classic after she suffered a concussion during her second round match against France's Melissa Alves on Tuesday (Sept 30).
World No 41 Aifa was leading 2-1 against world No 20 Alves, but fell and hit her head on the floor whilst chasing a ball to the back of the court in the fourth set at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
The 23-year-old Aifa was unable to continue after failing the Sport Concussion Assessment Test, leaving Alves to take the win 9-11, 11-7, 7-11, 2-2, ret.
The forced retirement leaves Aifa unable to join her younger sister Aira Azman and compatriot S. Sivasangari in the quarter-finals on Wednesday (Oct 1), as the latter two keep Malaysia's hopes alive in Qatar.
