KUALA LUMPUR: Ng Eain Yow and S. Sivasangari will spearhead Malaysia's mission to secure top-four finishes in the men's and women's events at the World Team Squash Championships, which begin in Hong Kong tomorrow (Dec 9).
The national women's team will be under the spotlight as reigning Asian Cup champions, with world No. 10 Sivasangari, No. 18 Rachel Arnold, and the Azman sisters, Aira and Aifa, ranked No. 31 and No. 35, respectively, leading the charge.
Malaysia are in Group E with France, Ireland, and Macau.
The top two teams from the six groups will qualify for the knockout stage, a target well within Malaysia's reach.
Defending champions Egypt are the top seeds, followed by the United States, Belgium and England.
In the men's event, world No. 13 Eain Yow, No. 65 Addeen Idrakie, Sanjay Jeeva (No. 67), and Syafiq Kamal (No. 72) will carry Malaysia's hopes.
The team are in Group E with Scotland and the Philippines.
The top two teams from the eight groups will advance to the knockout stage.
National coach Andrew Cross believes both the men's and women's teams are strong contenders to advance to the knockout rounds.
"The focus is on qualifying for the knockout stage first before setting targets," said Cross.
"Of course, finishing in the top four is the ultimate goal for both teams. However, they need to take it one step at a time."
Malaysia's best result in the women's event was finishing as runners-up to England in the 2014 edition in Canada.
Despite the absence of Sivasangari, they finished joint third with England in the 2022 edition in Egypt.
As for the men's team, they finished 11th in New Zealand last year.
The national men's team have yet to claim a podium finish at the event.