Outclassed Abhay & Anahat take bitter lessons from Malaysian mauling in squash - The Indian Express

The late Malcolm Willstrop shaped squash in immeasurable ways. He mentored a young Abhay Singh before his son James took over. He also mentored the man instrumental in the defeats of Abhay and Anahat Singh in the Asian Games singles finals.

British coaching legend Malcolm took an eight-year-old Andrew Cross under his wings in Pontefract. Cross, inspired by Malcolm’s passion, started coaching at 21. It was a leap of faith and cultures, from Leeds to Kuala Lumpur, as he accepted a full-time role with the Malaysian juniors.

In the 19 subsequent years, Cross has taken Malaysian squash to new heights. After helping make the nation an Asian junior powerhouse, he has spurred the growth of teenage promise into senior stardom. Sivasangari Subramaniam and Eain Yow Ng are shining examples.

Cross was in their corner when Sivasangari and Eain Yow won the singles titles at Hangzhou. He was there in Nagoya too when the duo retained their titles in emphatic fashion.

Anahat and Abhay were no match for the top seeds on Sunday. The gulf in class was evident as Sivasangari and Yow raced to gold medals and Los Angeles Olympics berths. The Indians, though outplayed, made the country proud. Saurav Ghosal was the only Indian to reach the final of an Asiad singles event before them.

The head-to-head records between the finalists painted a picture before the matches began. Abhay had lost each one of his seven face-offs with Eain Yow; Anahat had played two, lost two against Sivasangari. Their only chance was in making an early move and unsettling their respective opponents. Once that didn’t happen, it was one-way traffic.

Abhay appeared up for the challenge, initially. He was moving fluidly and stroking the ball confidently into the corners as the rallies lengthened in Game 1. He even came up with a crowd-pleasing tweener along the way, but Yow was not to be daunted. He absorbed all that Abhay threw his way and finished off points with technical finesse.

Yow exhibited some clinical volleying at the business end, opening up two game balls at 10-8. Abhay saved the first one by way of a stroke for obstruction, but was cramped for room in the back court next as Yow took the first game 11-9.

Abhay cracked under Yow’s brilliance from there on as uncharacteristic errors began creeping in his game. The physical pressure of the long rallies, as also Yow’s precise shotmaking, subdued him.

The reigning champ stamped his authority on the final with sublime finishing towards the end to blow away Abhay 11-9, 11-5, 11-5. The Indian was the first to admit that he was outwitted.

“He was just better all around. Sometimes, you need to put your hands up and give credit to your opponent and I think he deserved to win today. I was short of answers but that goes down to his abilities and how he put them forward today,” Abhay told reporters.

A similar story unfolded with Anahat. Sivasangari grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck from the outset.

After a balanced beginning, the Malaysian volleyed beautifully and harried Anahat to open up a 9-4 lead. An exquisite drop, boosted by a deflection from the side wall, helped the Malaysian convert the first of her six game points in the opener.

She didn’t relent in Game 2, timing the ball sweetly and gliding across the court effortlessly. Sivasangari was not allowing any leeway for Anahat to work her magic by way of drops or kills.

A missed backhand opened up four match points for Sivasangari. Anahat gutsily saved the first one, but fell short on the second. Sivasangari drove her up the side wall, in an apt metaphor for how the match panned out. She won it 11-4, 11-4, 11-7.

While acknowledging her opponent’s superiority, the 18-year-old Indian expressed displeasure with her performance. “I am not happy at all with the way I played today. I think I could have definitely done a lot better. I think maybe I got a bit too happy winning yesterday,” she said.

Anahat had mounted an incredible comeback to beat world No. 6 Satomi Watanabe on Saturday. But she said the battle was much more uphill against No. 5 Sivasangari.

“There is still a huge gap. Not everyone realises, but even number 5 and number 6 have a huge difference (between them). You may not be able to always tell, but when you are inside the court, you really feel the pressure. I can definitely give her that. There was not much for me to do.”

Abhay said there was nothing to celebrate for him with his men’s singles performance. “I didn’t come here for silver,” he added before outlining his Olympics ambition.

“The LA dream is not over. There’s still a shot at it. We’ll see what happens.”