Challenger Tour: Azman Takes Second Chance; Salem Continues Impressive Week

Squash Racquets Association of Negeri Sembilan PSNS President’s Trophy 2024 

Aika Azman made the most of her second chance at the Squash Racquets Association of Negeri Sembilan PSNS President’s Trophy, beating Kah Yan Ooi in round two having lost to the same opponent in round one. 

The unusual scenario occurred due to the withdrawal of Rathika Suthanthira Seelan – Yan Ooi’s original second-round opponent – meaning Azman received a spot in round two as a lucky loser, despite going down 3-1 on day one. 

Pure coincidence meant the two players faced off again, with Azman hoping to gain revenge and reach the quarter-finals in what is her first PSA Tour event since 2022. 

And the former World No.80 – who took the entirety of 2023 off – took her opportunity with both hands, clinching a five-game thriller 11-9 in the fifth, after fighting back from 2-1 down. 

Day two in Seremban had started with a different kind of drama, as No.2 seed Erisa Sano Herring was forced to withdraw from her match against Nisa Nashusa Mohd Nazir after suffering a hand injury in the warm-up. 

Herring was part of the Japanese team that won bronze at the recent Asian Team Championships, but was denied a shot at individual success here in Malaysia before even playing a point. 

Men’s No.6 seed Tayyab Aslam – who himself has only recently returned from a lengthy injury layoff – was also forced to withdraw, albeit midway through his matchup with Sepehr Etemadpoor, retiring at 11-6, 10-3 down. 

There were no such problems for either of the No.1 seeds, with both Darren Pragasam and Sehveetrraa Kumar recording 3-0 wins, beating Sunil Kumar Sivanesan and Jemyca Aribado respectively, while men’s No.2 seed Ziad Ibrahim dominated Sri Lanka’s Tuwin Nilakshana Herath. 

Action from the quarter-finals of the Squash Racquets Association of Negeri Sembilan PSNS President’s Trophy kicks off at 1pm local time on Friday, June 28^th, streaming live on the PSNS YouTube page. 

Dynam Cup SQ-Cube Open 2024 

Korea’s Ryu Jeongmin caused the biggest upset on day two of the Dynam Cup SQ-Cube Open, knocking out fifth seed Ivan Perez in a dramatic fifth-game tiebreak. 

21-year-old Jeongmin is ranked almost 150 places below the Spaniard in the world, but matched him throughout, eventually winning the deciding game 12-10 to reach a 15k quarter-final for the first time in his career. 

Jeongmin will now play No.3 seed Addeen Idrakie, who eased past Harley Lam on day two, with top seed Ryunosuke Tsukue and second seed Lucas Serme also recording routine wins. 

In the women’s draw, rising star and No.3 seed Anahat Singh was given a scare by unseeded Bobo Lam, who became the first player to take a game off the 16-year-old sensation this calendar year. 

Singh has won all three Challenger Tour events she’s played in 2024, winning each of her matches 3-0 along the way, but she needed all five games to get past fellow teenager Lam, taking the decider 11-7 to reach the quarter-finals. 

Top seed Anna Serme was also made to work hard for her victory over Ayumi Watanabe, winning 3-1 in just over half an hour, while unseeded Egyptian Ruqayya Salem continued her impressive start to Challenger Tour life. 

The 16-year-old crushed Ain Jun in only 20 minutes on her Challenger Tour debut in round one, and put in an even better performance in round two, stunning No.5 seed Kincso Szász 11-1, 11-2, 11-1 in only 13 minutes. 

Trident Homes South Island Open 2024 

15-year-old Adam Hawal continued to showcase his burgeoning talents at the Trident Homes South Island Open, knocking out third seed Lwamba Chileshe to reach the quarter-finals. 

The young Egyptian reached the Skillzea Open semi-finals last week, knocking out top seed Rowan Damming along the way, and is now one win away from another semi-final in New Zealand after beating home favourite Chileshe 3-1in 45 minutes. 

Hawal’s last-eight opponent will be Australia’s Remi Young, who caused an upset of his own in knocking out fifth seed Anthony Lepper 3-2, taking a tense game five 11-9. 

Meanwhile, women’s top seed Lowri Roberts made a dominant start to her quest for glory, sweeping aside local player Moriya Karati 3-0 in only 12 minutes, dropping just two points in each of the three games. 

Second and third seeds Ella Lash and Madeleine Hylland also chalked up 3-0 wins, but there will be no place in the quarter-finals for sixth seed Shona Coxsedge, who went down 3-1 to Emma Cormack. 

You can stay up to date with all the results on the PSA Challenger Tour here.