KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will host the Asian men's and women's qualifiers for May's World Squash Championships.
The Asian Qualifier will be held in Seremban from April 18-21, but the venue for the World Championships has yet to be decided.
Jadish Kumar of Ace Sports and Management, the promoter of the Asian Qualifier, said 16 men's and 16 women's players will participate in Seremban, and only the men's and women's winners will qualify for the World Championships.
"Players, who are ranked 58 to 150 in Asia, will get the chance to feature in the Asian Qualifier," said Jadish.
Among the Malaysian men's players who will be participating in the Asian Qualifier are world No. 64 Addeen Idrakie, Sanjay Jeeva (99th), Syafiq Kamal (100th) and C. Ameeshenraj (139th). The women's players are Ainaa Amani (60th), Low Wee Wern (76th), Chan Yiwen (77th) and Yasshmita Jadish Kumar (78th).
Last year, a record eight Malaysians competed in the World Championships in Chicago. They were Ng Eain Yow, Ivan Yuen, S. Sivsangari, Aifa Azman, Aira Azman, Rachel Arnold, Ainaa Amani and Yasshmita.
Based on rankings, five Malaysians (one man and four women) will qualify automatically for the World Championships. They are world No. 15 Sivasangari, No. 17 Eain Yow, No. 26 Rachel, No. 36 Aifa and her younger sister, Aira, ranked No. 49.
Only the top 57 men- and women-ranked players qualify automatically for the World Championships. Five continental champions and the world junior champions (boys and girls) and one wild card make up the 64-player field.