KUALA LUMPUR: The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) believes that national women’s squash player, S. Sivasangari has the mettle to stand among the world’s best, given her impressive performance in tournaments ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games (LA28).
However, SRAM’s coaching director, Major (Rtd) S. Maniam, noted that there is still room for improvement for the 25-year-old, who won the gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games especially since the game of squash has evolved from being purely endurance-based to one that now emphasises power combined with endurance.
“Sivasangari is now performing extremely well. She’s very focused. It’s a very tough world out there with the Egyptian girls playing amazing squash, the fitness level, the mental capacity to stay and fight day in, day out, physically and mentally, is very demanding and I am very proud to say that Sivasangari has shown she has the mettle to be up there with the rest of them.
“At this level, the biggest thing for her (to improve) is in terms of power, physically and mentally as well as resilience because when you lose, you tend to come down a little bit and then you have to fight and get back again so these are the two things Sivasangari would be working on,“ he told reporters.
When asked whether SRAM has set an early target for the prestigious event held every four years, Maniam said the most important thing at the moment is to understand where the national players rank within The Professional Squash Association (PSA), as it provides an indication of where Malaysian players stand.
He added that the governing body is planning various initiatives to support national players and believes that sending them to compete in international tournaments regularly will give valuable exposure, which serves as comprehensive preparation to address any weaknesses.
“So as far as getting a medal in the Olympics is concerned, we will use the process of ranking in the PSA. That will give us an indication of where we really stand. So right now, Sivasangari is ranked 10th and we take out a few of the Egyptians because a maximum of two Egyptians will only be able to play in the Olympics. So we will move up a little bit more but that does not guarantee a medal.
“You could be ranked 5th and still not make it. So we have other things that we have to consider in terms of preparing the athletes to excel at the Olympics. We have got a lot of work ahead of us. Exposure and being based abroad, training with the best players in the world is one of the things that we want to do. If you are going to stay at home and try to be trained here, it is not going to work very effectively,“ he said.
In July, the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) approved requests by national squash athletes under the Road to Gold (RTG) Fast Track programme in preparation for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the United States.
Its minister, Hannah Yeoh said the requests include specific coaching assistance, training and rehabilitation equipment as well as medical support and sport science services that will be prepared immediately, along with training abroad and technical expertise services for Ng Eain Yow, S Sivasangari, Aifa Azman and Aira Azman.
