KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian squash emerged as one of the nation's top-performing sports in 2024, while table tennis showed promise, and tennis continued to make minimal impact.
Squash players Ng Eain Yow and S. Sivasangari stood out with remarkable achievements on the PSA Tour, narrowing the gap with top-ranked players and improving their standings.
Asian champion Eain Yow won the German Open title in April and clinched his second PSA Tour title of the season at the Malaysia Cup, climbing four spots to finish the year ranked world No. 13.
The 26-year-old has the potential to break into the world's top 10 but must focus on rigorous training and mental toughness to reach this milestone.
Sivasangari, 25, delivered a standout performance at the London Classic in April, defeating Egypt's world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini, world No. 2 Hania El Hammamy, and Belgium's world No. 4 Nele Gilis to claim the title.
She also led Malaysia to a joint-third finish at the World Team Squash Championships in Hong Kong earlier this month.
Alongside Rachel Arnold and Aifa Azman, Malaysia upset fourth-seeded England 2-0 before falling to the United States (2-0) in the semi-finals.
A finalist at the Malaysia Cup and a semi-finalist at the Singapore Open, Sivasangari broke into the top 10 in July, reaching a career-high world No. 9 before ending the season ranked No. 10.
She is the third Malaysian woman to achieve a top-10 ranking after Nicol David and Low Wee Wern.
Seen as Malaysia's best hope for a squash medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Sivasangari must focus on consistency and mental strength.
Rachel Arnold, 28, had a stellar year, defeating world No. 8 Rowan Elaraby and world No. 14 Farida Mohamed en route to winning the China Open, boosting her ranking to world No. 17.
Aira Azman, 20, showed exceptional determination by coming from two games down to upset world No. 20 Sana Ibrahim in the China Open semi-finals.
Ranked world No. 31, Aira's future is promising, though an overseas training base will be crucial once she completes her studies.
In table tennis, Javen Choong-Wong Qi Shen made history by clinching the men's doubles bronze medal at the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan in October.
The world No. 187 defeated South Korea's Jang Woo Jin-Cho Dae Seong, as well as China's world No. 1 Lin Shidong-Lin Gaoyuan, before losing to Singapore's world No. 16 team of Koen Pang-Izaac Quek in the semi-finals.
Javen also emerged as Malaysia's most successful paddler at the Sea Championships in Bangkok, winning four of the seven gold medals on offer.
Malaysia topped the medal tally with five golds, aided by the absence of top players from Thailand and Singapore.
National coach Beh Lee Wei is optimistic about Malaysia's prospects at the Sea Games in Thailand in December next year.
Malaysia last claimed a Sea Games table tennis gold medal in 1991 (Manila) through Phua Bee Sim-Chong Choi Thing in the women's doubles.
Tennis saw modest progress, with Mitsuki Leong climbing from world No. 823 to a career-high No. 636 in the ATP rankings.
The 20-year-old aims to break into the top 500 next year but will need to compete in higher-level tournaments abroad to achieve this.
Mitsuki and his sister, Shihomi Leong, remain Malaysia's top male and female players.
In July, the women's team of Hannah Yip, Saw Jo-Leen, Soo Hui Yii, Elsa Wan Abdul Rahman and Iman Syuhada Abdullah finished third in the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group II.
However, the men's team struggled, facing relegation to Group 4 in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania competition.
While Malaysia have promising tennis talent, many players lack the financial means to train and compete internationally, hampering their development.