THE Arnold sisters, Rachel and Delia, share an undeniably close bond despite being 10 years apart.
They are both top squash players.
Delia, 33, a former World No 12, represented Malaysia for over 10 years before hanging up her racquet in 2017.
Rachel, the younger sister, is also coming into her own following breakthrough results this year with back-to-back titles at the Malaysian Open and the Indian Tour in September and October.
The 23-year-old also led Malaysia to two gold medals at the recent Philippines Sea Games.
Their squash careers, however, meant that both sisters, who are from different generations in the national setup, do not get to spend too much time with family during Christmas.
Thus both sisters are just grateful to have found the time to celebrate Christmas together this year.
“The opportunity to spend Christmas with family means a lot to me. I really appreciate it a lot more now as I do not get much time with them regularly,” said Rachel.
“So it means a lot to be home for Christmas this year as family support is important. They give me the extra push every time I see them in the crowd.”
Delia, who is now a national coach added that it was also nice to have the freedom to take time off during the festive season.
“When I was still playing, I still had to train during Christmas. It was never easy taking time out to spend time with family,” said Delia.
“Now it’s easier for me to take some time out and it’s also good that Rachel is home this year.”
Meanwhile, World No 43 Rachel is also eager to rest and recuperate after a gruelling calendar year with more tournaments looming in January.
The national No 3 is due to compete in the Tournament of Champions (TOC) in New York on Jan 9-17, followed by the Carol Weymuller Open in Brooklyn on Jan 22-27.
“I believe that I can continue to push higher if I keep working hard,” said Rachel.
“My goal is to break into the top 30 next year although I still have some sibling rivalry with Delia and ultimately I want to do better than her No 12 ranking.”