AMINA, 17, TO KEEP PUSHING

Egyptian prodigy is honoured by comparisons with world No. 1

- Kimberly Kwek

Amina Orfi appears like many other adolescents her age; her favorite pastimes include going to the mall and watching movies with friends and family.

But the 17-year-old rarely has the opportunity to enjoy these activities, as most of her time is dedicated to competing on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour.

She is no ordinary player. Despite playing in just her second full season, she has established herself as one of the world's best.

On Nov 22, the world No. 10 underlined her credentials by defeating another higher-ranked player in Belgium's seventh-ranked Nele Coll 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 at the Vitagen Singapore Squash Open.

After ousting the defending champion, Amina said: "I told myself to play like how I would during training and not think too much about the pressure. It paid off very well today."

She will meet Malaysia's world No. 9 Sivasangari Subramaniam in the semi-finals at the OCBC Arena on Nov 23.

In September, she became the second-youngest female to break into the top 10 of the world rankings after compatriot Nour El Sherbini, the current world No. 1, achieved the feat at 16.

Amina said: "My friends are fascinated by what I do; they can't believe that I'm always traveling and competing at this high level. But they support me and they think that it's so cool."