ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell women's squash alumna Sivasangari Subramaniam '23 successfully defended her Asian Games women's singles title Sunday in Nagoya, Japan, earning one of the first two Olympic quota places ever awarded in squash, which will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
The top seed and No. 5 in the latest PSA World Rankings, Subramaniam did not drop a game all tournament. She capped her run inside Nagoya Kinjo-Futo Arena with an 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 win over India's Anahat Singh, the world No. 17, in the gold-medal match, which lasted 27 minutes.
"There is always pressure in these types of matches, not only as the defending champion, because there was so much at stake, so I was just trying to put those emotions away," Subramaniam told
WorldSquash.sport. "I am really happy that I was able to hide those emotions away and just try to play my best squash on-court, so being able to secure the gold medal is a really good feeling."
The win gives Subramaniam three golds and five total medals at the Asian Games. She won gold in singles and the team event with Malaysia at the 2023 Games in Hangzhou, China, and took silver in singles and bronze in the team event at the 2018 Games in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia. She is the first Malaysian woman to win back-to-back Asian Games singles titles since eight-time World Champion Nicol David, who won four straight from 2006-18. David's 2018 title came in a five-game final against a 19-year-old Subramaniam.
"I got a ticket to the Olympics, which is huge... It's a dream come true already, but I want to work harder," Subramaniam told
Olympics.com.
Subramaniam opened with an 11-3, 11-5, 11-3 win over Sri Lanka's Chanithma Sinaly in the round of 16, needing just 17 minutes. She then swept two players from Hong Kong, defeating Tze Lok Ho, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, in the quarterfinals and Sin Yuk Chan, a former Columbia standout, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7, in the semifinals. The semifinal was a rematch of the 2023 gold-medal match, which Subramaniam won in five games. In all, she won 12 straight games and spent 99 minutes on court across four matches.
"The coaching staff, our Cornell Squash alumni, and I are incredibly proud of all of Siva's achievements," said
David Palmer, the James Broadhead '57 Head Coach of Cornell Squash. "With squash making its debut at the 2028 LA Games and Siva as the first woman to lock a spot in the 16-player draw, this is outstanding. This past season on the PSA Tour, Siva has confirmed her ranking in the top 5, and I truly believe she can become No. 1 and win the World Championships in the coming years as well."
Subramaniam's sights are set even higher.
"I think obviously, there's a lot more tournaments coming up. It's only the beginning of the season. I want to improve my ranking by the end of the season to be top 3 in the world. World No. 1 and an Olympic gold medal is my goal," she told Olympics.com.
A native of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Subramaniam was a four-time CSA First Team All-American and three-time unanimous First Team All-Ivy League selection at Cornell. She also was named the Ivy League's Player of the Year in both 2022 and 2023. She won the 2022 individual national championship, capping an undefeated junior season by winning all four of her matches in the Ramsay Cup, and was a two-time Ramsay Cup runner-up (2019, 2023). As a senior, she won 11 of her 12 matches at the No. 1 position, including her first 10 to extend her winning streak to 28 matches, and went 6-0 in Ivy League play.
Subramaniam is one of four players representing Malaysia in the team event of the 2026 Asian Games, which begins when Malaysia opens pool play against Macao at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 27 (10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28, in Nagoya).
Subramaniam at the 2026 Asian Games
Round of 16: def. Chanithma Sinaly (Sri Lanka), 11-3, 11-5, 11-3 (17 minutes)
Quarterfinals: def. Tze Lok Ho (Hong Kong), 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 (29 minutes)
Semifinals: def. Sin Yuk Chan (Hong Kong), 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 (26 minutes)
Gold-Medal Match: def. Anahat Singh (India), 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 (27 minutes)
