Xin Ying stuns second seed to reach squash Under-23 World Championships semi-finals

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Yee Xin Ying pulled off a major upset to book her place in the semi-finals of the Under-23 World Championships after defeating second seed Malak Khafagy of Egypt on Tuesday (April 8). On paper, the odds were stacked against Xin Ying, who is ranked 82nd in the world, compared to Khafagy’s much higher position at 31. But the quarter-final clash at the DHA Creek Club in Karachi, Pakistan told a different story, as the 21-year-old Malaysian produced a spirited performance to outplay the Egyptian.

Although the match went the full distance, Xin Ying held her nerve in the deciding set to claim a hard-fought 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 victory. She will now await the winner of the quarter-final tie between Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk and Japan’s Akari Midorikawa to determine her semi-final opponent..