KUALA LUMPUR: Asian Games champion S. Sivasangari overcame world No. 12 Nele Gilis to reach the quarter-finals of the Egyptian Open today.
The world No. 5 defeated the Belgian 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 in 33 minutes.
It was Sivasangari's fifth win over Gilis in nine meetings.
The 27-year-old, who won the Australian Open and Grasshopper Cup this year, will face world No. 6 Fayrouz Aboelkheir of Egypt for a place in the semi-finals.
Aboelkheir came from a game down to beat England's Jasmine Hutton 5-11, 11-2, 11-5, 7-11, 11-3 in the third round.
Sivasangari, who qualified for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after retaining her Asian Games title, faces a stern test against Aboelkheir.
The Malaysian has lost to the Egyptian in their last two meetings.
National coach Ajaz Azmat said Sivasangari played well against Gilis.
"But it will be tough against Aboelkheir. However, it will be a good test for Sivasangari.
"Her confidence is high, and it will be great to see her reach her first Diamond-level semi-final," said Ajaz.
Meanwhile, qualifier Yasshmita Jadish Kumar's superb run in the tournament ended in the third round today.
World No. 62 Yasshmita, who stunned world No. 34 Marian Metwally and world No. 20 Farida Mohamed in the first two rounds, ran out of steam against world No. 7 Satomi Watanabe of Japan, losing 11-3, 11-2, 11-6.
It was the first time Yasshmita, who is based in Cairo, had faced a top-10 player in a tournament.
Another qualifier, Joachim Chuah, also saw his fine run end, losing to world No. 1 Mostafa Asal of Egypt 11-3, 1-6, 6-11, 11-3 in the second round on Sunday.
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