KUALA LUMPUR: S. Sivasangari is now the most feared player in the women's game on the PSA World Tour, according to national coach Ajaz Azmat, following the world No. 13's stunning victory at the London Classic on Monday.
However, Ajaz reminded Sivasangari to continue striving for higher levels of performance and not to stagnate, as she has now become a marked player on the tour.
"She needs to play more sparring matches with players based in the US like Olivia Weaver and the Sobhy sisters, Amanda and Sabrina," said Ajaz.
"However, she cannot remain in her comfort zone by being based in just one place in Cornell, in the United States, under the guidance of coach David Palmer. This, I fear, will make her game and performance remain stagnant.
"She needs to move around, regularly spar with other top players, and also train under top coaches like world No. 1 and world champion Gregory Gaultier from France, who has an academy in Prague."
The Asian champion stunned three of the top four players in the world to win her first Gold-level tournament at the Alexandra Palace Theatre in London on Monday.
The seventh-seed Malaysian defeated world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini of Egypt (quarter-finals) and No. 4 Nele Gilis of Belgium (semi-finals) en route to the final.
And Sivasangari, also known as Sangari, defeated world No. 2 Hania El Hammamy of Egypt 11-9, 5-11, 13-11, 12-14, 11-8 in a thrilling 81-minute battle to capture the crown.
Ajaz said the London Classic victory proves Sivasangari is on the right track to win Malaysia's first Olympic gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
"Winning a Gold-level event is not easy against the best in the world. She has proven to everyone she is fearless and can beat any top player on the tour," said Ajaz.
"Sivasangari's success will definitely inspire the other national players to follow in her footsteps."
Ajaz also thanked the National Sports Institute (NSI), which helped Sivasangari return to competitive squash after a car accident in 2022.
"When she was recovering from the accident, she did not want to meet anyone, except me and SRAM director Major (rtd) S. Maniam. The NSI staff played a big part in helping Sivasangari during recovery."
Sivasangari will take a few days off before heading for Barcelona to train at a club.
Her next assignments are the El Gouna International (Cairo — April 19-26), the World Championships (Cairo — May 9-17), the British Open (June 2-9), and the Asian Team Championships (Dalian — June 12-16).