Hania hails Rachel and her bag of tricks after bagging tough win

PETALING JAYA: National squash player Rachel Arnold put up a strong fight before her run at the Optasia Championship ended in the quarter-finals.

World No. 24 Rachel had made her way into her second gold-level last-eight appearance at the Wimbledon Club in London before defending champion and top seed Hania El Hammamy edged her 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 on Friday.

But the Malaysian came out strong, building on her impressive second-round victory over local favourite Jasmine Hutton, and carried that momentum similarly with a commanding start against Hania.

But Hania, having the upper hand of winning their six previous matches, kept her cool against a difficult Rachel to continue her title defence in London.

The Egyptian had also ended Rachel’s previous gold quarter-final run at the China Open last year, and admitted her opponent had tricks up her sleeve.

“Rachel always makes it difficult. She is a very talented player, and she has all those tricks,” said Hania.

“She throws balls short from everywhere. Once I lost my focus and I gave her a few easy shots, and she just went for it.

“In the third, I thought I had a big lead, but I lost a little accuracy. Rachel always makes it hard, and I had to be very sharp from the first point to the last.”

Reaching the last eight in London was Rachel’s second quarter-final of the year. Her run at the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup in February was ended by England’s Georgina Kennedy.

Rachel’s next outing will see her compete at the platinum-level El Gouna International on April 4, where she meets Egypt’s world No. 17 Sana Ibrahim in the opening round.