2 days Ago By Aftar Singh
KUALA LUMPUR: After capturing the Dynam Cup title in Yokohama, Japan last week, Yasshmita Jadish Kumar will now shift her focus to qualifying for the World Squash Championships in Chicago (May 8-17).Yasshmita, ranked no. 80 in the world, needs to win the Asian Qualifier which begins tomorrow (April 17) at the ACE Universiti Malaya Centre of Excellence in Kuala Lumpur to earn her place in Chicago.
A total of 16 men and 16 women players will feature in the Asian Qualifier. Third seeded Yasshmita will open her campaign against compatriot Goh Zhi Xuan in the first round tomorrow and is expected to face Toby Tse of Hong Kong in the quarter-finals.But Yasshmita's main challenge en route to the final will likely be against world No.
70 Akanksha Salunkhe (second seed) of India in the semi-finals.Top seeded Nga Ching Cheng of Hong Kong (world No. 60) is expected to reach the final.
Yu Jie Chen is the other Malaysian to feature in the women's category.Yasshmita, 20, had previously qualified for the world meet in 2023.Malaysia's Sanjay Jeeva (world No.
65) is the top seed for the men's qualifying competition and will also be aiming to book his ticket to the world meet.The other Malaysians competing in the men's division are C. Ameeshenraj, Syafiq Kamal, Ong Sai Hung, Bryan Lim, Duncan Lee and Darren Pragasam.
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