Kennedy Earns Spot In The Final After Claiming Exacting Win over Subramaniam

England’s Georgina Kennedy earned a chance to defend her title with a thrilling five-game encounter with Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam in the semi-finals of Squash in the Land.

The pair looked to be playing similar styles at the start of the match, with both playing with particularly physical, long rallies. Kennedy took an early 4-1 lead after catching Subramaniam out with a well-disguised straight drive.

The Malaysian fought back, but the Englishwoman maintained a fine lead to 9-8. Subramaniam had the first chance to take a 1-0 lead after a precise backhand drop at 9-9 followed by a the Malaysian getting the better of a short, impactful rally, but Subramaniam squandered two chances at game ball to give the No.1 seed her own opportunity. Kennedy converted her 12-11 position with a tight backhand drop.

The beginning of the second game played out like the first, with Kennedy keeping a slim lead on her opponent, scoring with an outrageous forehand straight drive that dropped into the nick to take a 3-2, before continuing on to 6-2 with consecutive quick winners.

The No.1 seed found herself with a dominant lead at 8-3 and despite a late fightback from Subramaniam, she couldn’t recover from the deficit, and Kennedy took a 2-0 lead with thunderous shot into front right corner that the Malaysian couldn’t retrieve.

Subramaniam looked revitalised at the start of the third game, taking an early 3-1 lead after drawing Kennedy into the front left corner with a reverse front-court boast, before responding to the Englishwoman’s backhand drop with an irretrievable cross-court.

The No.4 seed kept a marginal lead to 9-8 before Kennedy caught up to force a tie break. Subramaniam didn’t allow the Englishwoman a single game ball, and halved Kennedy’s lead in the match with a backhand straight drive at 13-12.

Subramaniam looked a cut above at the beginning of the fourth game, taking her shots early and not allowing Kennedy to get a foot into game.

She quickly accrued a 6-1 lead over the defending champion. Subramaniam kept her commanding lead and played quality squash, as evidenced in an inch-perfect forehand straight drive to make it 8-5, to earn five game balls. The Malaysian restored parity with a cross-court that Kennedy made little effort to return.

The closest phase of the whole match came in the early stages of game five. Both players stayed conservative, but the rallies were long and attritional. The pair remained inseparable to 7-7, but the England No.1 showed her quality as she won a sting of points to earn her first match ball of the encounter at 10-8..

There was an premature celebration when Kennedy’s winning rally was denied by referee John Masseralla being unable to determine whether or not a high lob from Kennedy was in or out, but the Englishwoman refocused and claimed her chance to defend her title after an error from Subramaniam.

“That was ridiculously tough,” claimed Kennedy after the match. “I said to Siva at the end that it was one of those matches that no one deserved to lose.

“I’m so relieved and lucky I managed to get over the finish line. When I was 2-0 up I didn’t feel comfortable – I had a feeling in the back of my head that she was going to push for a comeback, which is not what you want to hear yourself say. I was trying to pretend to myself that I was positive but those thoughts were in the back of my head.

“I stopped finding my length and her shots were ridiculous. In the fifth I said I need to up the intensity, fight for every point and take initiative because if I don’t she will and I was being a bit too passive in the third and fourth. I’m relieved and credit to her – it could have been me or her standing here. I’m sorry it wasn’t her but I’m very grateful I’m here.”

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Result: Squash in the Land Presented by Greater Cleveland Squash 2024 Women’s Semi-Final
[1] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-2: 13-11, 11-8, 12-14, 6-11, 11-9 (64m)