KUALA LUMPUR: National junior and back-up players were wiped out in the first qualifying round of the Naza Women's World Squash Championship in Bukit Jalil on Saturday.
None of the eight players in the qualifying draw managed to win a match among them with Rachel Arnold, the country's sixth highest ranked player in the world at No 63, coming the closest to pulling off an upset.
Leading 10-5 in the final game against 46th-ranked Milou van der Heijden, Rachel contrived to blow five match points in an 11-6, 11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 12-10 defeat.
Rachel saved a match point at 9-10 in the third game to boost her hopes of making it to the main draw and was seemingly headed for victory with five match points in hand in the fifth game.
But her eagerness to finish the game led to a string of errors and eventually to an extraordinary collapse.
"I was just too excited and wanted to get it over with," said Rachel, 20, after regaining her composure at the National Squash Centre.
"It was the wrong plan. Lesson learned. I probably won't be able to get over this. I wanted to make the main draw after coming close two years ago (in Penang). I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight."
National junior S. Sivasangari's run of 12 wins in a row came to an end but not after a gallant effort against Egypt's World No 50 Nadine Shahin, who won 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7.
Sivasangari, 17, came into the match on the back of winning three successive tournaments on the Malaysian Squash Tour for her first career professional titles.
"I could not have asked more of her," said Sivasangari's coach Ong Beng Hee. "She is really tired after playing for five days in a row. A 17-year-old winning three straight titles, not many have done it."
Double British Junior Open champion Aifa Azman's World Championship debut ended in an 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 defeat by qualifying second seed Line Hansen of Denmark.
Four-time World Championship runner-up Natalie Grinham cleared the first hurdle by beating Malaysia's Nazihah Hanis Razak 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 while Andrea Lee, Teh Min Jee, Vanessa Raj and Zoe Foo all bowed out tamely.
With no Malaysian featuring in Sunday's qualifying finals, it leaves eight-time world champion Nicol David, national champion Delia Arnold and wildcard recipient Low Wee Wern as the only home players in the main draw, which gets underway on Monday.
RESULTS - 1st qualifying rd: Amina Yousry (Egy) bt Nicolette Fernandes (Guy) 11-6, 11-6, 13-11; Mariam Metwally (Egy) bt Lotte Eriksen (Nor) 11-1, 11-3, 11-1; Milou van der Heijden (Ned) bt Rachel Arnold (Mas) 11-6, 11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 12-10; Samantha Teran (Mex) bt Vanessa Raj (Mas) 11-6, 11-4, 5-11, 11-5; Liu Tsz-Ling (HK) bt Christine Nunn (Aus) 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9; Deon Saffery (Wal) bt Zoe Foo (Mas) 11-7, 11-7, 13-11; Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZ) bt Vanessa Chu (HK) 11-7, 11-7, 13-11; Joey Chan (HK) bt Teh Min Jie (Mas) 11-2, 12-10, 11-4; Olivia Blatchford (US) bt Catalina Pelaez (Col) 11-3, 11-5, 11-8; Natalie Grinham (Ned) bt Nazihah Hanis Razak (Mas) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3; Misaki Kobayashi (Jpn) bt Andrea Lee (Mas) 11-8, 11-9, 11-4; Coline Aumard (Fra) bt Lisa Camilleri (Aus) 11-7, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9; Fiona Moverley (Eng) bt Nouran El Torky (Egy) 11-5, 11-2, 11-5; Megan Craig (NZ) bt Choi Yura (Kor) 11-9, 11-7, 11-8; Nadine Shahin (Egy) bt S. Sivasangari (Mas) 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7; Line Hansen (Den) bt Aika Azman (Mas) 11-6, 11-3, 11-2.