KUALA LUMPUR: National squash player Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi just fell short in her bid to win a third successive title after narrowly losing to Egypt's Salma Eltayeb in the final of the RC Pro Series.
The 21-year-old, who has been on an incredible run of form, muffed a golden opportunity after being two games up as she went down 10-12, 1-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 to fourth seed Salma in St Louis on Saturday.
Ainaa, who had won 15 of her last 16 matches, including taking the titles at the HK Challenge Cup and the SRFI Open, started brilliantly as she raced into a two-game lead.
But the world No 73 got pegged back by Salma in the third game and showed signs of slowing down to allow her opponent to take the game 11-9.
It went downhill from there as Ainaa was unable to reassert her control as she eventually succumbed after 37 minutes.
Still it has been an impressive run by the KL lass who started the tournament unseeded and had beaten fifth seed Jessica Turnbull of Australia in the first round before following it up by dumping out top seed Nour Aboulmakarim of Egypt in the quarter-finals.
Her form in recent months, which included sealing a spot to the World Championships in Chicago from May 3-11, is certainly a strong indication of her improvement in the game.
"I am a little frustrated with how it ended, but overall, I am still pleased with my performance this week," said Ainaa.
"I was feeling the pressure after taking a two-game lead, and I did get really close in the third game.
"But maybe I was just feeling a little exhausted, both mentally and physically, although I tried my best to hang on.
"I still think there are positives to learn from. Most importantly, I have certainly improved.
"It's also a good lesson that anything can happen in squash, and I shouldn't be afraid to take my chances.
"Now I do have a few days off before the world meet, and I hope to recover well and be physically and mentally prepared.
"But I am definitely very excited for my first world meet, and I can't wait to get going," added Ainaa.
For the world meet, she meets world No 17 Farida Mohamed of Egypt in the first round.
