KUALA LUMPUR: It was the end of the road yesterday for Malaysian squash player Aira Azman after creating two upsets at the US$198,000 El Gouna Open in Egypt.
The 19-year-old lost 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 to world No. 6 and fourth seed Georgina Kennedy in 30 minutes in the third round. It was Aira's third loss to the Englishwoman in a PSA tournament.
Aira, who had gone into the match after injuring her knee in collisions with opponents in the first two rounds, managed to put up a good fight.
World No. 41 Aira had upset Egypt's world No. 30 Hana Ramadan in the first round and Scotland's world No. 32 Georgia Adderly in the second round.
National chief coach Ajaz Azmat said: "Aira is only 19 but she has proven that she has the ability to beat higher-ranked players in major tournaments.
"This was the first time she played in a Platinum-level event and she did really well to finish top 16.
"This is a boost for her upcoming tournaments, especially the World Championships in Cairo (May 9-17)."
