Bernama
Wed Dec 04 2019
Malaysia’s Addeen Idrakie Bakhtiar conquered the crowd and his opponent to win a men’s singles gold medal in squash at the 30th SEA Games on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old beat Robert Garcia of the Philippines 3-1 in a closely contested match at the Manila Polo Club.
This was Addeen’s first triumph in men's singles at the regional meet after taking silver in Singapore in 2015.
He started well to clinch the first set 11-7 but easily lost the second at 3-11.
The Selangor-born player then took the next two sets at 11-9, 11-5 to clinch the gold medal.
Addeen attributed his victory to the support of his family, coach and supporters.
"I suddenly felt pressured by the big crowd in the second set.
"After that my coach told me to focus on one point at a time and ignore other things.
"He believed in my experience, and I changed my game play to prevail," he said.
In the women’s event, Rachel Arnold beat team-mate Chan Yiwen 3-0 in an all-Malaysian final, winning 11-9, 11-7, 11-3.
"I am happy with my win today. It's a tough game playing with Chan Yiwen.
"She was always fighting back in every single game but I'm glad I got through," said Rachel, who also won gold in Singapore in 2015.
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