'Bring her on': Aira unfazed by Sivasangari clash in Asian Games squash

NAGOYA: Aira Azman is unperturbed by the prospect of taking on top seed and defending champion S. Sivasangari at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Both Malaysians received first-round byes in the women's singles and are projected to meet in the semi-finals if they progress through their respective draws.

However, world No. 21 Aira said she is choosing to focus on one match at a time rather than dwell on a potential clash with world No. 5 Sivasangari.

"I just want to focus on one match at a time," she said.

Sivasangari will begin her campaign in the second round against either China's Liu Ziyi or Sri Lanka's Veera Samiyel Chanithma Sinaly.

Aira will play the winner of the match between Pakistan's Sana Bahadar and Iran's Najmeh Boushehrizadeh.

Aira said she aims to win gold at the Games, which doubles as an automatic qualification route to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Of course. No athlete wouldn't want to go (to the Olympics). So I definitely want it too, especially since this is my second time competing at the Asian Games," she said.

She said her preparations have been thorough since learning last year that the Asian Games would double as an Olympic qualifier.

"My preparations have been very good. Ever since last year, once we knew it would be an Olympic qualifier, we've put in a lot of preparation.

"So far, I feel this is the best shape I've ever achieved. I am very satisfied with the way I have trained over the past few months," she said.

As part of her final preparations, Aira competed in two international tournaments: the London Classic and the Qatar Classic.

She lost in the second round in London to Egyptian world No. 1 Hania El Hammamy, before exiting in the opening round of the Qatar Classic.