PETALING JAYA: National squash player S. Sivasangari will need to win her second group stage fixture at the PSA Squash Tour Finals to keep her semi-final hopes alive in Toronto. 

World No. 8 Sivasangari didn’t get the best start at the tournament after going down against world No. 4 Olivia Weaver in their opening Group B match as Sivasangari fell 11-9, 11-9 to the American on Monday (June 23). 

It was Sivasangari’s seventh defeat to Weaver in their past eight meetings on Tour. 

Sivasangari’s next match will be against world No. 14 Fayrouz Aboulkheir of Egypt, and a win will be crucial for the Malaysian to remain in contention at her debut Squash Tour Finals. 

The 26-year-old from Kedah has a slight advantage against Aboulkheir as she won twice last year against the Egyptian at the Singapore Open and Hong Kong Open. 

Aboulkheir needs a win as well after she fell to world No. 7 Satomi Watanabe of Japan, who won 11-7, 9-11, 13-11. 

Meanwhile in Group A, world No. 1 Nouran Gohar of Egypt defeated world No. 9 Amanda Sobhy of the Untied States 11-6, 10-11, 11-6, while world No. 10 Georgina Kennedy of England won against world No. 6 Tinne Gilis of Belgium 11-10, 6-11, 11-3.