Day One : Trio of Wildcards advance at Kallang SC
Three of Singapore’s four wildcards, Rehaan Singh, Regan Tan and Justin Yap gatecrashed into the last 16 after scoring wins against their more illustrious opponents in the opening day of the UTU Singapore Challenger 6 at the Kallang Squash Centre.
Singh, the National Junior Champion led the assault when he took out Philippines number 2 David Pelino in five games in over an hour. The teenager was confident throughout and outlasted Pelino, who was near cramping towards the last few points of the deciding game.
Tan followed up with a convincing 3-0 win over Malaysia-based Egyptian Yassin Tamer in a one-sided affair that lasted 24 minutes, before Yap took out compatriot Ethan Kuan in straight games in just over half an hour. Samuel Lau, the fourth wildcard, couldn’t make it 100% but put up a good account against seasoned campaigner Hi Jia Rong of Malaysia, losing out 1-3.
Filipino Jonathan Reyes, Malaysia’s Aqil Mirza Naim, Altamis Hj Suffian and Nickileswar Mogasundharam all won to complete the round of 16 draw.
In the women’s event, things were more in order with wildcard Naisha Singh producing the only upset of the afternoon. The younger twin of Rehaan beat Thailand’s top woman Anantana Prasertratanakul in just 16 minutes to advance.
Match of the day in the women’s event belonged to Haneesha Veerakumar of Malaysa, who saved three match balls in the fourth at 7-10, before edging Indonesia’s Raifa Yattaqi in just under 50 minutes. Her win sets her up against childhood friend and top seed Harleein Tan.
