Kuala lumpur: National women’s squash player Rachel Arnold advanced to the second round of the Silicon Valley Open in Redwood City, United States, after defeating compatriot Aifa Azman on Saturday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, in the first-round match held at SquashZone, the world number 20 had little trouble overcoming Aifa with scores of 11-6, 9-11, 12-10, 15-13 in a 39-minute match.

Rachel now faces a tougher challenge in the second round where she will compete against world number 10 Georgina Kennedy of England. Kennedy previously defeated Rachel in their first encounter at the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Championship in Egypt last year.