KUALA LUMPUR: Aifa Azman has set up a mouthwatering all-Malaysian quarter-final clash with S. Sivasangari at the Asian Individual Squash Championships in Hong Kong.
National No 1 and world No 29 Aifa played brilliantly to overcome Indian sensation Anahat Singh 11-7, 11-5, 14-12 in the third round today.
The 21-year-old started on the front foot and raced to a 2-0 lead. But the 15-year-old Anahat showed why she is worth the hype in taking the fight to Aifa in the third game
Aifa however kept her composure and used her experience to seal the win.
Sivasangari was also in dazzling form in beating homester Cheng Nga Ching 11-2, 11-9, 11-4.
A third Malaysian, Rachel Arnold, also eased through by beating Jemyca Aribado of the Philippines 11-6, 11-1, 11-3. She will meet Hong Kong No 1 Chan Sin Yuk in the last eight.
In the men's competition, national No 1 Ng Eain Yow stayed on track to defend his title after brushing aside Hong Kong's Matthew Lai with an 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 win.
The world No 17 will be up against compatriot Addeen Idrakie in the last eight.
Joint fifth seed Addeen dropped a game but was still too good for Robert Garcia of the Philippines with an 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5 win.
Veteran Ivan Yuen also powered through by beating Na Jooyoung of South Korea, but compatriot Syafiq Kamal was knocked out 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 by India's Velavan Senthilkumar.
