SRAM offers a lifeline for dropped Tricia
The door to the national team is still open for squash rebel Tricia Chuah (pic).
Tricia was axed from the national team after going AWOL last December.
An official of the Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM), however, said that the former national No. 3 would have to prove herself in Wispa tournaments if she wanted to return to the fold.
“Tricia, who now lives and trains in Amsterdam, is not in the national team but she can still represent Malaysia in Wispa tournaments because she is still a professional player,” the official said.
Tricia turned professional in 2000 and is currently ranked 31st in the world, having achieved a career best 25th in January last year.
In the national rankings, she is placed behind world No. 1 Nicol David and world No. 20 Sharon Wee.
Tricia was a member of the national team who finished third in the World Championships in Edmonton in 2006. That was Malaysia’s best ever result in the series.
Tricia, whose last title came when she won the Islamic Women’s Games in Saudi Arabia in 2005, will feature in the Hurghada International Open in Egypt from April 14-20.
She is seeded eighth in the tournament and will face a qualifier in the first round. Her opponent in the quarter-finals is likely to be third seed Omneya Abdel Kawy of Egypt.
Sharon will also be competing in the tournament and is seeded fifth. She will also face a qualifier in the first round.
With Nicol not featuring in the tournament, world No. 3 Rachael Grinham of Australia has been given the top billing.
KL Open champion Ong Beng Hee will feature in the men’s category.
National No. 1 and sixth seed Beng Hee, who lost in the quarter-finals of the COAS International in Islamabad last week, will face unseeded Mohamed El-Shorbagy of Egypt in the first round.
If he wins, his opponent in the quarter-finals will be another Egyptian, world No. 1 and top seed Amr Shabana.
The door to the national team is still open for squash rebel Tricia Chuah (pic).
Tricia was axed from the national team after going AWOL last December.
An official of the Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM), however, said that the former national No. 3 would have to prove herself in Wispa tournaments if she wanted to return to the fold.
“Tricia, who now lives and trains in Amsterdam, is not in the national team but she can still represent Malaysia in Wispa tournaments because she is still a professional player,” the official said.
Tricia turned professional in 2000 and is currently ranked 31st in the world, having achieved a career best 25th in January last year.
In the national rankings, she is placed behind world No. 1 Nicol David and world No. 20 Sharon Wee.
Tricia was a member of the national team who finished third in the World Championships in Edmonton in 2006. That was Malaysia’s best ever result in the series.
Tricia, whose last title came when she won the Islamic Women’s Games in Saudi Arabia in 2005, will feature in the Hurghada International Open in Egypt from April 14-20.
She is seeded eighth in the tournament and will face a qualifier in the first round. Her opponent in the quarter-finals is likely to be third seed Omneya Abdel Kawy of Egypt.
Sharon will also be competing in the tournament and is seeded fifth. She will also face a qualifier in the first round.
With Nicol not featuring in the tournament, world No. 3 Rachael Grinham of Australia has been given the top billing.
KL Open champion Ong Beng Hee will feature in the men’s category.
National No. 1 and sixth seed Beng Hee, who lost in the quarter-finals of the COAS International in Islamabad last week, will face unseeded Mohamed El-Shorbagy of Egypt in the first round.
If he wins, his opponent in the quarter-finals will be another Egyptian, world No. 1 and top seed Amr Shabana.