Hong Kong’s rising squash star Simmi Chan Sin-yuk made headlines in the United States after winning Columbia University’s first ever women’s individual title at the National Championships.
The 20-year-old Chan also made history as the first Hongkonger to win the College Squash Association title – as a debutante, to boot.
She came back from a set down to beat defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam of Cornell University 2-11, 12-10, 11-5, 13-11 in the final last weekend.
“It means a lot to win the national title, and it’s also a boost, especially because my opponent in the final was Siva from Malaysia,” said Chan, a second-year Columbia student who missed last year’s event because of a scheduling clash with a Professional Squash Association competition.
A total of 160 players competed in Philadelphia at the CSA National Collegiate Individual Championships, with only the top 16 women qualifying from the pools for the knockout stage on Sunday.
World No 38 Chan breezed through to the semis without dropping a set, before beating Harvard’s Marina Stefanoni 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4 and then downing the world No 23 Malaysian in the final to win the Ramsay Cup.
“There’s still about half a year until the Asian Games, and we’re all going to get better until then, but it’s a confidence boost for me if I play her again at the Games,” the Hongkonger said.
The two rivals will meet again next month in the first round of the British Open, a Platinum ranking tournament on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour.
“We’ve played each other a few times collegiately. We’ve had wins and losses. Siva is a fantastic player, and I have a lot of respect for her,” Chan said.
“There is still a month to go and it’s going to be a different environment for PSA matches so I guess I’ll just try to play well and enjoy it as much as I can,” Chan said.
Though with the Asian Games coming up in September in Hangzhou, Chan has decided to balance competing with her studies.
“My ranking now is high enough for me to get into most tournaments, so I think it’s more important to strike a good balance between academics and squash, and be competitive in tournaments,” she said.
Chan broke into world’s top 50 after lifting the women’s trophy at the Tournament of Championships Challenger in New York last May.
Her ranking rose after back-to-back victories on the Challenger Tour 10, at the Costa North Coast Open in August, and the Volkswagen Bega Open in September.
With the British Open running from April 9-16, Hong Kong will send three other elite female players in No 1 Ho Tze-lok, Lee Ka-yi and Tong Tsz-wing.