It’s the finals again—with Natalie, the big match that everyone has been anticipating the whole day. It was a neck to neck race and we both got the crowd going with precise shots and rallies that were intense right through the match.

It was 6-6, in the first set, the rallies were long and we were waiting for each other to make the first mistake. Then there was this very, very,very long rally that I thankfully won—it gave me a little bit of a boost to kick off from there to take the game.

The second set was again close and we both didn’t let each other in and were finding ways to make the other person move around the court.

I got the better end of that game and brought that momentum into the third game. I kept it going with solid pressure shots and Natalie started making a few errors. However, she did play well and won a string of points but I pushed all the way toward winning that Gold Medal. I was glad to win 3-0 because it didn’t seem like 3 games at the intensity we were playing.

This World Games went very well and was an overall success! I’m definitely looking forward to heading back to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Open and also for my favourite Malaysian cuisines! See you all in Malaysia!

Semi-finals day.

In my match with Omneya, I was expecting her to play an array of attacking shots that comes so naturally for her. This made me stay more focus on what I had to do to keep her going during the rallies.

Throughout the first and second game, my movement and shots were coming in well while she made a few unforced errors to give me more of a lead in both games. In the third however, she kept onto the rallies better and made it clear she’s not letting this match go just yet.

I worked harder to keep her out of her zone and got back to my own game again in the last few points. Very excited to beat her in 3 games and to get to the finals here.

I guess it’s Natalie Grinham tomorrow in the finals!

Fancy a swim?

It’s the quarter finals today!

A number of up and coming players from Hong Kong are making their way through the rankings and Joey is no exception. As she is a left-handed player, I had to readjust and be ready for a different style of play.

This match felt much better than yesterday’s matches and I could feel the rallies going my way a lot more today. It was my first time playing Joey so I made sure I stayed firm with each shot selection, hoping she wouldn’t get comfortable playing her shots.

There were some long rallies with both of us retrieving every shot possible to keep the ball going. I managed to win the match with a forehand straight volley drop to finish.

Now, it’s onto Omneya Abdel Kawy in the semis.

The glass court

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Welcome to Kaoh Siung!

Today is the start of the squash event at the Martial Arts Stadium and I was first up on the glass court. Played with Helga Kecse-Nagy from Hungary and it’s her first participation in the World Games. The World Games encourages players from various countries to represent their country so it’s great to see new faces here. I won 3-0 and I had to be ready for my second match later in the day.

Later, I played against Joshna Chinappa from India after she had a tough five setter with Sharon in the morning. This gave me a bit of a head start when we got on court and she made quite a few mistakes as well. The second game she got into the rallies better and it was close right through the game. Then I knew I couldn’t let her in and put more pressure on my shots to win the match.

It’s Joey Chan next in the Quarter finals. I’ll keep you posted.