Revival on the cards for Singaporean squash player Cassandra Ong
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Cassandra Ong and Jerome Aw are the two new wildcard entrants who will make their debuts at the Singapore Squash Open.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
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SINGAPORE – Born in Singapore but raised in California, Cassandra Ong’s budding squash career in the United States came to a halt when she quit in 2022 due to personal reasons.
Then an engineering undergraduate at Stanford University, she spent the next two years focusing on her studies.
Her return to the sport in 2024 can be credited in part to her uncle, who persuaded her that it “would be a waste” to quit.
He even sent her curriculum vitae to Sport Singapore (SportSG), which forwarded it to the Singapore Squash Rackets Association (SSRA) in July 2022.
Among her accolades were the 2016 US West Coast Regional Championships girls’ Under-19 title, and runner-up spots at the 2011 US Junior Open (U-11) and 2017 Junior Championships (U-17).
Upon seeing her credentials, the national sports association invited Ong to train with the national team. She went on to beat her peers, despite having stopped training for a while.
SSRA general manager Alex Wan said: “She was in Singapore in August (2022) and came to national training with our juniors, and blew us away as she beat all our top juniors with ease.
“We continued to be in touch and were hoping she will be available for some regional events that year. But it did not work out and, in 2023, she wanted to concentrate on school.”
A year after that eye-opening training session, the association offered Ong the SSRA-Marigold Podium Scholarship, though she was hesitant to take it up as she “never expected to come back and compete”.
The 23-year-old added: “I didn’t do any exercise or anything, but I figured I wasn’t very happy with how I left the sport. I didn’t stop because I didn’t enjoy the sport. It was more the circumstances.”
Ong took up the three-year deal and turned professional after graduating in July 2024.
Noting Ong’s potential, national head coach Jamie Hickox said: “She’s unknown to us in this region, but she had a good college career in the US. She’s got great talent, a very natural player. So, really, the sky’s the limit for her.”
Ong is one of four wildcard entries – up from two in previous editions – for the Nov 19-24 Vitagen Singapore Squash Open at the OCBC Arena.
The world No. 495 will enter the tournament as a massive underdog against Egypt’s world No. 25 Zeina Mickawy in the first round.
Cassandra Ong quit squash for two years before her career was revived.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
The other new wildcard entrant is world No. 251 Jerome Aw, who will face Egyptian Omar Mosaad (No. 44). They will be joined by Singaporean teammates Au Yeong Wai Yhann and Samuel Kang, who have seven and eight national titles respectively.
Aw, 21, said: “It is definitely an opportunity for me to play against players that are top 40, top 50 in the world. I wouldn’t say there’s any expectation of me to win... I want to perform well in front of my home crowd, so that they can see the hard work that I’ve been putting in the past year or so.”
Jerome Aw will face Egyptian Omar Mosaad at the Singapore Squash Open.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
With squash making its debut at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, qualifying for the Games is also a target for the Singaporeans.
But Hickox is taking a more conservative approach, adding: “It’s (2028 Olympics) not out of the question. It depends how quickly they develop and quite frankly, they’ve got two years to get themselves into the position, to take on the highest of Asia. But if you really look at it, 2032 (Brisbane) might be more realistic.
“That gives us six to seven years before they need to qualify. But Cassie has got super talent, so if she really wanted to work hard and do the right training, and get some success, she could well sneak in there for this one.”
