MALAYSIAN squash star Rachel Arnold claimed the biggest title of her career with a top-class performance in the China Open final as she upset No.3 seed Farida Mohamed to claim the PSA Squash Tour Silver-level title at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center.
Despite her lower ranking, World No.30 Arnold went into the match with a 3-0 record against World No.15 Mohamed and full of confidence after convincing wins over top seed Rowan Elaraby in the quarterfinal and No.8 seed Aira Azman in the semifinal.
Once again, the No.6 seed was on her game in Shanghai.
The 28-year-old started the match with control and accuracy, moving Mohamed around well to take the opener 11-5.
The Egyptian improved in game two, but could not match Arnold, who doubled her advantage with an 11-8 win.
Despite the commanding lead, Arnold will have taken nothing for granted after watching Mohamed come back from two games and eight match balls down in her semi-final against Sivasangari Subramaniam, and she began the third game watchfully.
Both players were good value for 8-8 in game three as Arnold pushed for a historic victory and Mohamed bid to begin another epic comeback.
To the delight of the crowd, it was the Malaysian who made the decisive contribution, holding her nerve to earn two championship balls at 10-8, which she converted at the first time of asking to capture her first ever Silver-level PSA Squash Tour title.
Afterwards, Arnold said: “I felt really confident today. Going in, I just thought about it as another match and not as a big final. It doesn’t feel real at the moment but I’m really happy!”
“For everyone who’s believed in me, thank you so much!”
