KUALA LUMPUR: Women's squash player S. Sivasangari delivered a huge statement as she overcame top seed Satomi Watanabe of Japan to reach the final of the Asian Individual Squash Championships in Hong Kong.
The national No. 3 was certainly back at her best as she got the better of Satomi 11-9, 14-12, 11-8 in the semi-finals on Friday.
Having fallen to No. 50 in the rankings after missing six months of action due to a car accident, Sivasangari started as the underdog against the Japanese ace.
But the Kedahan, who has been playing impressive squash of late, drew first blood as she took the first game 11-9.
World No. 18 Satomi, who is the first Japanese player to crack the top 20, however, bounced back in the second game, and it was certainly a close contest between the two junior rivals.
It was, however, Sivasangari who earned a breakthrough as she converted her opportunities to take the game 14-12 for a 2-0 lead.
And she didn't look back as she continued to keep the pressure on before sealing victory after 36 minutes.
"I definitely played well to get a 3-0 win against Satomi, who has been playing with a lot of confidence lately," said Sivasangari.
"I managed to stick to my game plan right until the end, and I'm definitely very pleased to win in straight games. It definitely gives me the confidence to get a big 3-0 win against her.
"I have another tough match tomorrow. I am hoping to take this confidence in and continue to play well."
The Cornell University graduate will be up against home favourite Chan Sin Yuk in a bid to regain the title last won by eight-time world champion Datuk Nicol David in 2015.
World No. 39 Sin Yuk was also in impressive form as she defeated compatriot and world No. 24 Tomato Ho 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 in the other semi-final.
"Sin Yuk is also a very good player, and she has a very different game compared with Satomi," said Sivasangari.
"I have played her twice this year and the record stands at 1-1, so I need to stick to my plan once again to get a result."
In the men's event, national No. 1 Ng Eain Yow was in imperious form as he stayed on course to defend his Asian crown.
The world No. 17 proved just too strong for Hong Kong's Henry Leung as he powered through for an 11-5, 11-8, 12-10 win.
Hopes of an all-Malaysian final, however, fell flat as veteran Ivan Yuen went down in an 11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7 defeat against India's Velavan Senthilkumar.
