Last month, local squash player Sivasangari Subramaniam achieved one of the greatest victories of her career by defeating Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy, who is World No. 2, to win the prestigious 2024 London Squash Classics.
In light of this momentous win, the 25-year-old was recently named ‘Athlete of the Month’ by The World Games, an international multi-sport event that includes sports and sporting disciplines currently not contested in the Olympic Games.
Sivasangari Subramaniam shares her journey of recovery
Speaking to The World Games, Sivasangari who hails from Kedah, shared her journey of how she overcame incredible difficulties after having a surgery following a terrible car crash in 2022.
My head, spine and neck were badly injured and doctors feared I might never walk again. It was very tough, but I was willing to push myself beyond limits to play this sport again.
“It was mentally hard after the accident to go through the rehabilitation process. It wasn’t the normal routine I previously had. I tried to stay as positive as I could during those times, and reminded myself that everything happens for a reason,” she said.
Sivasangari added that she had to spend 5 to 6 months in rehabilitation before she stepped into the squash court and could only do “very light things” in order not to aggravate her neck injury.
Eventually, things began looking up for her during her summer training last year, where she felt her confidence coming back and believed she had returned to her former form before the accident.
Defeated squash giants
However, there was another obstacle in Sivasangari’s search for glory: she first had to ‘conquer’ the squash greats in the form of World No. 1 Nour El Sherbini and Hania El Hammamy.
Fortunately, she had the support of her coaches and family members, which helped propel her to victory at the London event, making her the first Malaysian Squash player to win a Gold-level (or higher) event on the PSA World Tour.
The last Malaysian to achieve this was Datuk Nicol Ann David, who won the Hong Kong title in 2015.
When asked what she felt about her London title win, Sivasangari said:
It means a lot to me. Nicol is the legend of this game, and such an icon in the sport scene in Malaysia. So to be winning the event definitely is a huge confident booster for me, and allows me to believe in myself more that I’m capable of achieving these kind of results.
Her next tournaments will be the CIB PSA World Championships (May 9-18) and the British Open 2024 (June 2-9).
Congratulations to Sivasangari and we wish her all the best in her upcoming tournaments!
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