PETALING JAYA: A hamstring injury denied an all-Malaysian quarter-finals clash at the Australian Open in Brisbane after Aira Azman (pic) withdrew yesterday.
Sixth seed Aira was due to face compatriot and top seed S. Sivasangari in the quarter-finals of the Gold-level tournament, but was forced to withdraw.
It would have been their fifth meeting on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour, with Sivasangari having won all previous encounters.
Sivasangari will face Belgium’s Nele Gilis next.
Gilis had earlier knocked out Aira’s elder sister, Aifa Azman, 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 in another 40-minute semi-final match.
Although Gilis has won four of the past seven meetings with Sivasangari, the Malaysian won their two recent encounters at the Windy City Open in February and the Qatar Classic last September.
Meanwhile, fifth seed Ng Eain Yow will face third seed Mohamad Zakaria in the men’s quarter-finals today after he defeated Colombia’s Matias Knudsen 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 in the second round on Wednesday.
However, the road ended early for SEA Games gold medallist Sanjay Jeeva after he lost a tough battle with Frenchman Auguste Dussourd.
Sanjay battled for 71 minutes before going down 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 4-11.
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