Sivasangari Subramaniam (Photo PSA)
Sivasangari Subramaniam, who beat reigning World Champion Amina Orfi twice last season will look to make it a hat-trick of wins in the semi-finals over her rival at the London Squash Classic.
The Malaysian number one defeated Indain teenager Anahat Singh in the quarter-finals of the women’s competition. It was double joy for Malaysia as Ng Eaian Yow also booked his place in the semi-finals of the men’s competition.
Sivasangari is something of a best of three specialist – as evidenced by her win here in 2024 – and she put Anahat to the sword in the last eight.
The Indian starlet came into today’s encounter full of confidence after upsetting No.4 seed Nele Gilis in round two, but today was all about the player from Malaysia.
SIvasangari cruised to a 11-4, 11-4 win in 17-minutes. Her semi-final opponent Orfi gunned down Belgium’s Tinne Gilis 11-3, 12-10 in her quarter-final tie,” said Sivasangari, the champion here two years ago.
“I’m happy with how I played today, Anahat is a very talented player. She’s beaten some of the top players and challenged the majority of them.
“I put extra intensity in my hitting towards the back corners. Anahat is very dangerous when she has time, so I tried to take that away from her. Obviously there are a lot of nerves coming into these matches with the best of three format, so I had to get my confidence and happy with how I dealt with things today.
“Towards the end of the season I was playing much better compared to the start of the season. It doesn’t matter that I’ve beaten Amina, tomorrow is going to be a new match and a new battle. I train for these matches and I want to beat these top players.
“She’s the World Champion but I have my own goals. Tomorrow, I just want to play my best squash.”
England No.1 Georgina Kennedy booked her place in the semi-finals after upsetting No.4 seed Satomi Watanabe at the Alexandra Palace.
London-based Kennedy hadn’t beaten Watanabe in their three previous meetings on the PSA Squash Tour but produced a fantastic performance in front of her home fans to complete a 12-10, 11-4 victory.
“I’ve lost to her three times in a row and they’ve been frustrating losses,” said Kennedy afterwards.
“When we’re playing [in practice] we’re battling it out for over an hour, so it confused me a bit why I wasn’t as good when I got into those PSA matches. It’s a barrier I’ve overcome today by taking the win.
“I’ve got a bit of a different mindset and I’m understanding what’s happening in the rallies better. When she went 10-7 up, I was aware I was playing really good squash and she did get a few lucky bounces. By remembering that instead of worrying that I was losing, I was able to decipher and understand what was happening. That allowed me to play my game and have a clear understanding of what I’m doing.”
World No.1 Hania El Hammamy was tested hard in her quarter-final match with USA’s Amanda Sobhy, eventually pulling through to win 13-11, 7-11, 11-6.
Sobhy put El Hammamy under serious pressure, but the 2024 runner-up managed to find another gear in the third game to seal her spot in the last four, where she will play Kennedy.
“It was definitely very tough for me, a best of three against Amanda is very hard mentally,” El Hammamy said afterwards.
“She was going for her shots and I think I lost my length a bit in the middle. She was really keen and hungry today and I could feel the vibes on court, so it made it extra tough. I’m really happy I gained the momentum back in the third and found a way to get through it. I might have looked calm, but it wasn’t how I felt inside.”
Meanwhile, Eain Yow will compete in his first semi-final on the PSA Squash Tour since October 2025 after upsetting No.5 Youssef Soliman 11-6, 5-11, 11-3 in the men’s quarter-finals.
He reached the last four of this tournament last year and will be looking to improve on that as he eyes a place in the top 10 this season.
“I wasn’t really thinking too much about what I was doing, I was just carrying in the momentum from my last match. I was 4-2 up in the second and then Youssef made me think about my own game, I made some sloppy shots but I managed to stay focused, calm and I was confident at the end of the match,” said Eain Yow.
“I’ve been finding myself a little bit again. It’s been a relatively tough year for me in terms of my performance on court. I’ve been seeing the ball better, reacting better, and Hadrian [Stiff] has been working with me for the last six months or so and that’s helped me so much.”
Defending champion Paul Coll advanced to the semi-finals against Eain Yow, after his opponent Mohamed ElShorbagy retired from their match in game two due to a glute issue.
The No.1 seed forced 35-year-old ElShorbagy into some brutal movements and the Englishman responded in kind to put on a show for his home crowd. However, he was forced off court at 8-2 down in the second game, bringing a premature end to the match for the former World Champion.
“I knew he would come out at a hundred miles an hour, but I’ve been working on something with Rob [Owen, Coll’s coach] this week and it’s relaxed everything,” Coll said afterwards.
“I’m feeling really confident, actually. I’m working on some simple things technically, but I love that. When he’s playing like that with so many different angles and changes of pace, I can get a bit tense. I was really happy with how smooth I stayed throughout the game, I was very proud of that.”
There will also be an home player in the men’s event as England No.1 Marwan ElShorbagy won a thriller against Egypt’s Kareem El Torkey.
El Torkey played some creative shots and wowed the crowd with his speed and athleticism, but he was generally forced into doing that by the control that ElShorbagy exhibited on court today. The experienced 33-year-old kept his head as the business end of the match came around and his reward will be a mouthwatering semi-final battle with No.2 seed Victor Crouin.
“It was very hard playing Kareem today and it was a different test to yesterday,” ElShorbagy said.
“I wanted to test myself against the younger generation, especially him because he has that energy that he wants to beat everyone. I like that, but it’s always annoying to play against.”
Results
Men’s Quarter-Finals:
[1] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [8] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 2-0: 11-5, 8-2 ret. (29m)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt [5] Youssef Soliman (EGY) 2-1: 11-6, 5-11, 11-3 (56m)
[3] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) bt Kareem El Torkey (EGY) 2-1: 11-5, 7-11, 12-10 (41m)
[2] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [7] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 2-1: 11-7, 9-11, 11-6 (56m)
Women’s Quarter-Finals
[1] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 2-1: 13-11, 7-11, 11-6 (42m)
[5] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [4] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 2-0: 12-10, 11-4 (25m)
[3] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt Anahat Singh (IND) 2-0: 11-4, 11-4 (17m)
[2] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [6] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 2-0: 11-3, 12-10 (33m)
