KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian squash player Rachel Arnold defeated homester Au Yeong Wai Yhann 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 in the US$112,500 Singapore Open first round today.
World No. 28 Rachel will face Egypt's fifth seed Salma Hany for a place in the quarter-finals at Singapore Sports Hub tomorrow.
World No. 29 and Asian champion S. Sivasangari ousted Finland's Emilia Soini 11-6, 11-4, 11-3 to reach the second round.
Sivasangari will face Malaysia Squash Cup champion Nour El Tayeb of Egypt next.
Sivasangari will want to get even with the Egyptian, having lost to world No. 6 Nour in the Malaysia Open semi-finals.
World Junior Championships runner-up Aira Azman, however, went down 6-11, 10-12, 2-11 to Canadian Hollie Naughton of Canada.
In the men's competition, world No. 20 and national No. 1 Ng Eain Yow prevailed 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 over Hungary's Balazs Farkas.
Asian champion Eain Yow will meet Egypt's seventh seed Youssef Soliman next.