SEREMBAN: World No. 39 Rachel Arnold defied the odds to reach the final of the US$51,500 Ace Malaysia Squash Cup here today.
The Malaysian fought back from two games down to beat Egypt's Malak Khafagy 8-11,11-7, 11-4, 6-11, 11-4 in a 52-minute women's semi-final battle to reach her first career bronze-level PSA Tour final at the Dato Said Sports Complex in Seremban Two.
Rachel will face top seed and world No. 6 Nour El Tayeb of Egypt in the title match tomorrow.
The fifth seed Malaysian will be gunning for a third straight Egyptian scalp in the tournament.
In the quarter-finals, Rachel upset second seed Farida Mohamed of Egypt on Wednesday.
Nour prevented an all-Malaysian final when she defeated S. Sivasangari 10-12, 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 in the other semi-final.
The 27-year-old Rachel said reaching the final exceeded her expectations.
"There is no pressure ahead of the final, as I did not expect to reach this far," said Rachel.
"It will be my biggest career final and first PSA Tour final since my victory at the 2019 Malaysian Open, and I hope to do well."
Commenting on her semi-final win, Rachel added: "I just played and enjoyed the game. It was also my first meeting against Malak in a PSA Tour tournament.
"It was a gruelling match, and I played well to fight back from two games down to reach the final.
"Although my family members were not around today, it still felt great as I received the support from the fans here.
For the record, Nour has won 14 career PSA Tour titles.