NAGOYA, Sept 27 — Newly crowned Asian Games women’s singles squash champion S. Sivasangari has set her sights on becoming the world number one and winning Olympic gold after successfully defending her title at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Games.
The world number five said her victory over India’s Anahat Singh in today’s final was especially meaningful as the achievement also secured her a ticket to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28).
“By winning this, I get the ticket to the Olympics, which is something really big. It is a step towards... it has already become a dream come true, but I want to work harder,” she said after the final.
Sivasangari, who was born in Kedah, said she would focus on performing well on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour and improving her ranking, with the aim of breaking into the world’s top three by the end of the season.
“Of course, there are many more tournaments to come. This is just the beginning of the season and I want to perform well on the PSA Tour and try to improve my ranking to be among the top three in the world by the end of the season,” she said.
Beyond breaking into the top three, Sivasangari said she hoped to eventually reach the summit of the world rankings before pursuing Olympic gold at LA28.
“I hope I can do it and eventually become the world number one player and win Olympic gold,” she said.
The victory saw Sivasangari retain the title she won at Hangzhou in 2022, after she had claimed silver on her Asian Games debut at Jakarta-Palembang 2018.
She acknowledged that the pressure was greater this time as the top seed but was satisfied with how she managed her emotions and maintained her focus throughout the tournament.
“This Asian Games was slightly different because I came as the top seed. So, there was a little pressure, but I am happy with the way I controlled my emotions and the way I played throughout this week,” she said.
Sivasangari also said retaining the gold was important in demonstrating her ability to compete among Asia’s leading squash players. — Bernama
