Amani & Senthilkumar Storm to ACE Challenger Tour 12k Titles

Ainaa Amani and Velavan Senthilkumar stormed to victory on finals day at the ACE Challenger Tour 12k, beating Hana Ismail and Noor Zaman 3-0 respectively to get their hands on the trophies. 

19-year-old Egyptian Ismail had already knocked out two home favourites in the previous two rounds, beating fourth seed Yasshmita Jadish Kumar 3-1 in the quarter-finals, then upsetting top seed Aifa Azman by the same scoreline yesterday. 

Those results propelled her into the biggest final of her PSA Tour career to date, but standing in her way was No.2 seed Amani, who had home hopes resting on her shoulders. 

Amani had knocked Ismail out at the quarter-final stage of last week’s Tuanku Muhriz Trophy in Seremban, but it was Ismail who made the better start here, quickly establishing a 6-2 lead in game one. 

6-2 soon became 9-5, but Amani kept her composure – even with a break in play due to Ismail damaging her shoe – to reel off six points on the bounce, the last of which came on a stroke. 

Once again it was Ismail who made the better start in game two, opening up a 3-0 lead, but she would only win one more point in the game, as the Malaysian’s speed across the court and consistent hitting wore her opponent down. 

With victory within touching distance, Amani remained focused throughout game three, turning an early 4-1 lead into three match balls at 10-7, volleying a backhand winner on the very next point to clinch glory. 

Victory marks Amani’s third PSA Tour title but her first on home soil in Malaysia, and was followed by success for India’s Senthilkumar in the men’s trophy showdown. 

The No.1 seed was taking on Pakistan’s Noor Zaman, who, like Ismail, had knocked out home favourites to reach this final, beating Darren Pragasam and Addeen Idrakie in the previous two rounds. 

But Senthilkumar himself had not dropped a game this week, never even losing more than seven points in a game, and flew out of the blocks, winning the first four points in game one. 

Zaman found his feet to win the next four points, but he would only win one more in the game, that coming at 10-4 down, with Senthilkumar slamming a backhand winner cross court to close out the game. 

The Indian lefty was similarly dominant in game two, taking just 12 minutes to wrap it up 11-6, continuing to showcase his impressive athleticism throughout. 

Game three was the closest of the match, and indeed the closest Senthilkumar had had all week, as Zaman threatened to force his way back into the contest at 9-9, but a no-let then a stroke handed the top seed victory.