KUALA LUMPUR: National No 3 S. Sivasangari's strong run at the Manchester Open squash championships came to an end with a quarter-finals defeat against Egypt's Nour El Tayeb yesterday.
The 24-year-old found former world No 3 Nour El Tayeb too hot to handle as she lost 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-8.
Sivasangari, who beat Egypt's world No 11 Rowan Elaraby a day earlier, played aggressive squash to take the first game 11-9.
World No 6 Nour, however, turned on the heat and showed her attacking prowess to win the second game 11-8 and third 11-4.
It was neck-and-neck in the fourth game as Sivasangari dug in well to level proceedings at 8-8. But then a collision with Nour left her with a bloody nose.
After a lengthy injury timeout, the Kedahan returned to the court, but Nour stayed focused and sealed the win.
It was a disappointing ending for Sivasangari after playing good squash all week. But the world No 40 should take comfort from her performance after struggling to make an impact since returning to action earlier this year.
She was ranked world No 16 before a car accident ruled her out for several months.
Nevertheless her return to form is a good boost for Malaysia ahead of the Asian individual championships in Hong Kong from June 6-10.
Meanwhile world No 19 Satomi Watanabe extended her sensational run by beating eighth seed Tesni Evans of Wales 11-4, 11-13, 11-9, 11-6 to become the first Japanese to reach the semi-finals of a PSA World Tour silver event.
She will next meet Belgium's Nele Gilis, who scored an upset of her own by beating top seed Joelle King of New Zealand 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 in the last eight.
