KUALA LUMPUR: National champion Aira Azman overcame a strong challenge before reaching the second round of the Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC) Open today.
Aira defeated Switzerland's Nadia Pfister 11-4, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 to set up a date with top seed Georgina Kennedy of England tomorrow.
Compatriot Ainaa Amani defeated Spain's Dominguez Fernandez 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 and will face France's Melissa Alves in the second round.
National No. 2 Rachel Arnold also advanced with an easy 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 win over Hong Kong's Toby Tse.
Rachel will face eight seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir of Egypt for a place in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Asian champion S. Sivasangari, who received a first-round bye, will face Hong Kong's Tsz Wing Tong in the second round tomorrow.
World No. 22 Sivasangari said: "I'm working on my consistency, and I hope to do well in this area here.
"I hope to achieve my top 20 target in the world rankings by the end of this year. If I do so, it will be great for me. But if I don't, I won't be discouraged because I think I'm currently on the right track," said Sivasangari.
In the men's competition, national No. 3 Addeen Idrakie failed to reach the second round after going down 13-15, 11-9, 6-11, 6-11 to Seif El-Shenawy of Egypt.
National No. 1 and third seed Ng Eain Yow, who received a first-round bye, will face Argentina's Leandro Romiglio in the second round.