Rising Hong Kong squash star Simmi Chan wins title, makes history at US Collegiate National Championships
- The 20-year-old becomes the first player from Hong Kong to win the College Squash Association title
- Another test awaits the two finalists as Chan and Malaysia’s No 1 will meet again in April at the British Open
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.
