Delia Arnold, a former national squash player who captained the Malaysian team to fourth place at last month’s inaugural Asia Pacific Padel Cup in Bali, Indonesia, now faces a new challenge this weekend.
Arnold will be among the 211 players from 37 countries who will compete in the US$6,500 Asia Pacific Padel Tour (APPT) Open at the Joy Division Padel Club in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, from Nov 8-10.
She will play in the women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
“This will be the first time I am playing in two categories and, to make it more challenging, it will be in two levels,” said Arnold, who will play in the women’s doubles professional category with Japan’s Yoshino Kushima, and in the mixed doubles amateur division with fellow Malaysian Aidan Yunus.
“Playing in Bali was an eye-opener, and we now know how to gauge our standard. I’m grateful for the opportunity to hopefully have a second career in sports.
“This is a bigger event than Bali as we have the world’s best players in the competition.”
Arnold said she was excited to see Malaysia making big strides in padel and hopes to see more events coming here.
“I’m excited to be pairing with Yoshino and Aidan. I don’t have any targets, but of course, I hope we go as far as possible,” said Arnold, who plays her first match tomorrow (Nov 9).
Meanwhile, APPT chief executive officer Carlos Carrillo said he was excited to see the tour come to Malaysia for the first time.
“Our goal is to spread the sport to as many countries as possible. When we opened entries for the Malaysian event, it was quickly snapped up. That shows there is plenty of interest in the game,” Carrillo said.
“I’m confident we can grow the sport here and would like to thank all the sponsors who have made the tournament possible.”
