KUALA LUMPUR: Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) director of coaching Major (rtd) S. Maniam hopes S. Sivasangari and other players will not neglect national duties when they go abroad to further their studies.
With a scholarship from CIMB Foundation, Sivasangari will next week leave to begin her studies at Cornell University in the United States. She will train and compete in Cornell’s squash programme which is headed by former World No 1 David Palmer.
Maniam, who has been in talks with Palmer since last year about Sivasangari moving there, said it was a necessary move.
"It is important for her — people have to get educated, you can't run away from it. And it is good that she will be getting one of the best former players in the world (Palmer) as her coach," said Maniam.
"We are always on the lookout for Ivy League colleges who can tie up with SRAM. However, the problem with going abroad like this is that sometimes they find it very difficult to come back and represent Malaysia while studying.
"It is important that we underline (with university) that ‘okay we will send you our players and they can study with you and represent you but for the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games as well as the World Championships, you have to send them back here’.
"The problem is with exam periods as there is no way to get them back even if it is the Commonwealth Games or Sea Games. I think swimming have experienced the same thing when their swimmers went abroad."
Ng Eain Yow, who has also received the same scholarship as Sivasangari, has decided to put his studies on the back burner for now.
"It's really Eain Yow's call. He wanted to give it (playing on tour) more time to see how far he can move up the ranks in PSA.
"But he too has standing offers to study and as I have said I have no objections to players going abroad to study, but hopefully they can combine both studies and squash."