|
|
31-Dec, Final:
[2] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt
[3] Wael El Hindi (Egy)
10-11 (1-3), 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (48m)
Iskandar Captures
Malaysian Open Crown
Mohd Azlan Iskandar became only the second domestic winner of his
country's prized Open squash title when he beat Egypt's Wael El Hindi in
today's final at the National
Squash Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
After failing to clinch a tie-break in the first game, Iskandar went on to
assert himself in his first ever match against El Hindi, the 24-year-old
world No30 from Cairo. Iskandar, the second seed from Sarawak, thrilled
the partisan crowd when he finally claimed his epic 10-11 11-5 11-5 11-7
victory after 48 minutes.
The victory brings to three the number of PSA Tour titles that the
22-year-old Malaysian has won this year. Currently poised at 21 in the
Dunlop PSA World Rankings, Iskandar can now confidently look forward to a
first ever appearance in the world top twenty when the January rankings
are announced next week. |
|
 Iskandar
Ends Year on a High
Alex Wan reports from KL
It’s the evening of new year’s eve and there was a pretty decent sized
crowd at the National Squash Centre. Such a sight is rather rare,
especially when you consider the traffic conditions here on such a day.
The patriotism shown by the Malaysians was rewarded when Azlan Iskandar
clinched his third PSA title of the year with a 3/1 victory over good
friend Wael El Hindi of Egypt. His win today will see him make an
inaugural appearance in the elite top 20 of the January rankings.
 The
start was very promising for the 22-year-old Malaysian, as he raced to a
4-0 lead with some fine attacking squash. Realising he couldn’t match the
pace, El Hindi began to play a smarter game and slowly crawled back to
4-4. El Hindi started to play more confidently and looked more promising
at this stage, though it was point for point now. It was very close and in
the tie break, Iskandar held game point only to see El Hindi save it and
go on to win the game.
Games two and three both started and ended in similar fashion – Iskandar
opening a big lead before El Hindi could get into the rhythm and both were
won by the former. Iskandar played the smart game, pumping up the pace
knowing that El Hindi came here with an slight back problem. Moving
swiftly just like in the semi final yesterday, Iskandar hit tight and
wide, never allowing the Egyptian to be on the attack.
 A
freak accident took place in the fourth when El Hindi was moving back from
a shot and Iskandar ran into him. Again, the “once hot headed” Malaysian
youngster went to his opponent’s aid to make sure he was alright to play
on. At the break after the third, Iskandar was seen walking up and down
mumbling to himself, probably cooling himself down.
 The
fourth game was the game of the match, as both players were fighting hard
– one to clinch the match and the other to force the decider. El Hindi was
particularly unhappy about several denials for lets and some lets given to
him which he had hoped for strokes. El Hindi even received a conduct
warning for ball abuse (which I thought was a little harsh considering he
merely kicked the ball in frustration), having already received one in the
third for time wasting.
Iskandar’s determination and confidence was clearly evident as he
continued to dictate the rallies, though they were all close. A quick
succession of points gave him a comfortable lead, El Hindi made a mini
comeback, but it was just not enough to deny the Malaysian and the crowd
the perfect icing on the cake to end the year.
 A
very emotional Iskandar covered his face in disbelief and needed several
seconds before he walked over to El Hindi, where they exchanged a very
warm and friendly embrace.
Once out of court, Iskandar went to his sister for an embrace, and
afterwards in his speech he dedicated this win to his mother.
Alex Wan |
 “I
played really well today and do not get me wrong, but I am
feeling extremely confident after yesterday.
“I knew I could win this and went for every ball. There were
more mistakes than yesterday, but I made sure I made every
rally a hard one. I knew El Hindi came here with a back
problem so I had to keep the pace fast.
“After the first game, I really pushed him and I guess with
the ball moving 10-15% faster, he was having some problems.”
Azlan
Iskandar |
My
2004
Having hosted the
KL Open in
February, Asian
Championships in June,
Malaysian Women’s Open
in July, then, the Women’s
World Open earlier this month and now the Malaysian Open,
it has been one of the most eventful squash years in a very
long time here in Malaysia! The National Squash Centre, the
very same venue used for the 1998 Commonwealth Games was never
really used since then and it has finally seen some action.
To see Iskandar win made it even more special, also erasing
the painful fact that Bengy was ousted in the first round.
Tonight, we will all be out to paint the town red together
with El Hindi, Bengy and whoever who shows up, and I will make
sure Iskandar buys a round of drinks.
On a personal note, I’ve done a lot more squash work than I
ever did – all the KL events plus the Hong Kong Open. I’ve
enjoyed every second of it, though there were tricky times
like hunting for an internet café in the wee hours!
Here’s KL signing off and wishing everyone a great 2005!
Alex Wan |
|
 |
 Country View Malaysian Open
2004
28-31 Dec,
$20k |
Round One
Dec 28 |
Quarters
Dec 29 |
Semis
Dec 30 |
Final
Dec 31 |
[1] Ong
Beng Hee (Mas)
11/8, 10/11(4-2), 7/11, 11/10(5-3), 11/10(3-1) (104m)
Stephane Galifi (Fra) |
Stephane Galifi
11/5, 5/11, 7/11, 11/10(6-4), 11/8
(52m)
Ramy Ashour |
Ramy Ashour
11/3, 10/11 (0-2), 11/2, 11/4 (29m)
Wael El Hindi |
Wael El Hindi
10/11(1-3), 11/5, 11/5, 11/7 (48m)
Azlan Iskandar |
[8] Majid
Khan (Pak)
6/11, 11/7, 11/5, 11/6 (32m)
[Q] Ramy Ashour (Egy) |
[3] Wael
El Hindi (Egy)
11/5, 11/9, 11/9 (34m)
[Q] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind |
Wael El Hindi
11/6, 11/5, 11/8 (35m)
Joey Barrington |
[6] Joey
Barrington (Eng)
9/11, 11/7, 11/7, 7/11, 11/3 (78m)
[Q] Khasif Shuja (Nzl) |
Arshad
Iqbal Burkhi (Pak)
10/11(6-8), 4/11, 11/7, 11/0, 11/2 (54m)
[7] Mohammed Essam A Hafiz (Egy) |
Mohammed Essam A Hafiz
1/11, 11/6, 2/11, 11/1, 11/5 (25m)
Shahid Zaman |
Shahid Zaman
11/3, 11/6, 11/4 (27m)
Azlan Iskandar |
Shandril
Shahidan (Mas)
11/5, 11/4, 11/5 (16m)
[4] Shahid Zaman (Pak) |
Cameron White (Aus)
11/7, 11/8, 11/5 (43m)
[5] Tommy Berden (Ned) |
Tommy Berden
10/11(0-2), 11/5, 11/7,
10/11(0-2), 11/3 (77m)
Azlan Iskandar |
[Q] Saurav
Ghosal (Ind)
11/6, 11/5, 11/6 (20m)
[2] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) |
|
|
Qualifying:
©SquashSite
Finals (27-Dec):
[1] Khasif Shuja (Nzl) bt Timothy Arnold (Mas)
11/4, 5/11, 11/7, 11/8 (44m)
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt
[3/4] Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)
11/5, 4/11, ?/11, 11/10(7-5), 11/8 (80m)
Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt
[3/4] Shamsul Islam Khan (Pak)
9/11, 11/8, 7/11, 11/10(2-0), 11/6 (46m)
[2] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt Adil Maqbool (Pak)
5/1 rtd
Round One, 26-Dec:
[1] Khasif Shuja (Nzl) bt Bader Al Hussaini (Kuw) 11/6,
11/6, 9/11, 11/8 (49m)
Timothy Arnold (Mas) bt Mohd Azfar (Mas) 11/6, 11/10(2-0),
11/7 (32m)
[3/4] Aaron Frankcomb (Aus) bt Mohd Nafzahizam (Mas) 11/9,
11/8, 11/8 (35m)
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Mohd Nafiizwan (Mas) 11/7, 11/9, 11/9
(38m)
Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt El Iraky Omar (Egy) 11/4, 11/7, 11/5
(29m)
[3/4] Shamsul Islam Khan (Pak) bt Mohd Asyraf (Mas) 11/7,
11/8, 11/8 (17m)
Adil Maqbool (Pak) bt Bradley Hindle (Aus) 6/11, 6/11,
11/10(4-2), 11/8, 11/10(2-0) (61m)
[2] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt Wong Kin Lee (Mas) 11/6,
9/11, 11/9, 11/6 (40m)
|
|
|
REPORTS
El
Hindi Ends Ashour Run
Alex Wan reports from KL
Third seed Wael El Hindi ended the unbeaten PSA record of his
fellow Egyptian Ramy Ashour, racing to a 3/1 victory over the world junior
champion in just under half an hour.
In the final El Hindi meets the Malaysian attempting to win his third
title of the year, Azlan Iskandar, who cruised to victory over
Pakistan's Shahid Zaman in just 27 minutes to avenge his defeat in the
Asian team championships final. |
30-Dec, Semi-Finals:
[3] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt [Q] Ramy Ashour (Egy)
11/3, 10/11 (0-2), 11/2, 11/4 (29m)
[2] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt [4] Shahid Zaman (Pak)
11/3, 11/6, 11/4 (27m)
|
“Big Brother” Wins
I saw Ramy sitting behind the front wall all alone very relaxed about 15
minutes before match time and so I approached him. I asked how he felt and
the reply was, “Good, I feel great. I’m playing Wael, big brother today.”
He sure was in a very relaxed mood despite
this being the semi final of a PSA event, where he had to go through the
qualifying rounds. After all, like what “big brother” said to me a few
days ago, “Ramy is 16 years old and he has nothing to lose. He just goes
for it.”
 Ashour
started the match off very nervously and gave away easy points, allowing
El Hindi to open up a 5-0 lead. It just seemed that El Hindi knew Ashour’s
game far too well and hit the right shots at the right time – with a very
high success rate too, as he dropped just 3 points and finished it in 9
minutes.
After the 90 seconds, Ashour came back, armed with determination that had
grown probably five fold. He chased down everything El Hindi threw at him
(and made it look easy and graceful) and mistakes were dramatically
decreased. Even with all that, Ashour faced game point 6-10. A great run
by the lanky youngster saw him take 6 points in a row to level the match.
After this, El Hindi simply stamped his superiority over his much younger
compatriot. While Ashour tried to outplay El Hindi, he was a little short
in match experience amongst the “big boys” and attempted far too ambitious
shots at times. Between the next two games some exciting rallies were
seen, especially when both of them were going for points using the drop,
counter drop, cross drop….you name it! El Hindi needed just three hands to
take the third game in six minutes and then four hands and four minutes to
clinch his place in the final tomorrow.
Ashour might have won his first PSA event in Athens, but the size of that
event was really a few notches below this, and thus I would say what he
achieved here in Kuala Lumpur surpasses his achievement inAthens. Ashour
ends his first year in the professional circuit with a career 8-1 win-loss
record.
[3] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt [Q] Ramy Ashour (Egy)
11/3, 10/11 (0-2), 11/2, 11/4 (29m)
|
 “I
think it would be a really good game tomorrow because we have
only met in training and not in a final of a tournament.”
Wael El
Hindi |
Did you think you
would win 3-0?
 “Looking
at the way I was moving today, yes. I was moving really well,
right from the start. Yesterday was not the best but today,
everything was just right.”
What strategy did you employ?
“I was just hitting it tight and wide, keeping Shahid in the
back. Shahid is a player where once he gets his rhythm, he
hits really hard. Each time he got into that, I slowed it down
and I think it probably frustrated him. But really, Shahid was
definitely not playing at 100% today.”
Azlan
Iskandar |
 “He
played a very good game today and I didn't expect the defeat.
Anyway I wish him good luck in the final tomorrow.”
Shahid
Zaman |
|
What a Perfect Match!
Azlan Iskandar, the crowd, everyone…. after what we experienced and
saw in June during the Asian Championships, we had expected a very fiery
match with the referee playing a major role. However, to everyone’s shock,
this was not the case. This was a very, very “peaceful” match and
Shahid Zaman has earned a lot of respect from everyone present today,
proving he really is no mean player on court all the time.
 Iskandar
too displayed that he wasn’t out to be the bad boy today – calling his own
double bounce pick ups, clearing the path and at one point when he
accidentally hit Zaman in the leg, made sure his opponent was alright to
continue.
Iskandar was today especially sharp and dictated the entire match from the
word go. Zaman was never in the lead in the first game, with Iskandar
moving so swiftly all over the court and made sure Zaman was made to move
to all four corners as well. Iskandar broke away at 4-1, then 7-2 before
finishing off the first game in 8 minutes at 11-3.
The second game saw Zaman playing to his usual capabilities, striking the
ball hard and low. It was very intense and close, both players displaying
some beautiful squash. 5-4 up to Iskandar, and then he won four successive
points to lead 9-4. In this new PAR 11 scoring, dropping anything more
than two points in a single hand can spell big trouble. As expected,
Iskandar closed the game out after dropping just another two points.
 Already
beaming with confidence, Iskandar played near flawless squash and put
Zaman in so many tight positions in the third. Zaman was seen scampering
all over merely to retrieve those tight shots. The tempo slowed down
during the game, where it moved from a very fast pace to long rallies with
many lobs thrown in. Iskandar’s low error rate, amazing court coverage and
aggressive play finally won him this match after 27 minutes on court.
The win somewhat buried the ghost of Asian Championships, something I am
sure both Azlan and fellow Malaysians have been waiting for.
Amr El Daly, the Egyptian referee, after a rather difficult day yesterday
in the Iskandar-Berden match was given a break today, having only to make
a few decisions – none of which the players argued over. This was of
course, aided by the manner of both the players, a good example of how
this gentleman’s game should be played.
[2] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt [4] Shahid Zaman (Pak)
11/3, 11/6, 11/4 (27m)
|
The
Final
It would be hard to clearly choose a favourite for tomorrow’s final. It is
also especially hard when both are known to me on a personal level. While
Iskandar played flawlessly today, no one knows what tomorrow offers,
Iskandar is deadly on his day for as long as the mistakes do not creep in.
Having said that, El Hindi too, can dethrone anyone on his day, as I
witnessed in Hong Kong, where he let slip a 2-0 lead and 5-0 in the third
against David Palmer.
Iskandar and El Hindi are good buddies on the tour. They both train and
spar together a lot and no matter who wins, they both will be out painting
the town red together tomorrow night to usher in the new year. It will be
a very interesting match and I expect it to be a clean one, though
friendly would not be the right term to use. After all, they are both
professionals and both looking for their third PSA title of the year ...
Alex Wan |
|
29-Dec, Quarters:
Azlan keeps home hopes alive
Hopes of a home victory were kept alive in
Kuala Lumpur when second seed Azlan Iskandar overcame Dutch
Champion Tommy Berden in five games in the quarter-finals, setting up a
semi-final against Shahid Zaman, a repeat of their fiery Asian Team
Final clash.
An Egyptian finalist is guaranteed, with third seed Wael El Hindi
cruising past England's Joey Barrington in straight games, and world
junior champion Ramy Ashour maintaining his unbeaten record in PSA
events with a narrow five-game victory over yesterday's giant-killer,
Frenchman Stephane Galifi.
Alex
Wan provides the reports and photos from Kuala Lumpur ...
Local Interest Survives
Match of the day was definitely Tommy Berden v Azlan
Iskandar, lasting a total of 77 minutes. Iskandar dropped the
first very closely in a tie breaker, but came back strongly to take
the next two games at 11-5 and 11-7.
 The
fourth was point for point – Iskandar trying for winners while
Berden was just retrieving and waiting for mistakes. Berden held
game point at 10-9 but Iskandar saved it, only to lose the next 2
points. He was clearly frustrated with himself for not closing the
match out. The crowd was now very anxious…
The fifth started off well, both players matching each other’s shot
with an equally good, if not better one. Berden was becoming upset
with the refereeing by now, for some inconsistent decisions. It
upset him so much he was arguing with the Egyptian referee over
every single decision.
Iskandar took full advantage of Berden’s irritation and stormed to
an 8-1 lead in no time. Two more points was all he allowed Berden
before wrapping up the game in 10 minutes for a semi final berth
against Shahid Zaman.
It will be an exciting encounter for all of us locals after the
fiery Asian Championships match in June. While Zaman looked a little
unfit, he was still extremely quick today and I personally wouldn’t
dare bet my money on either one of them. |
 "I
just lost concentration in the fourth and got sucked into
Tommy's rhythm. I took it too lightly and this is something I
can never do."
"I played Shahid)in the Asian team final and it was a very
physical and dirty match.
"I hope that the same will not happen again. Hopefully, the
referee will be firm.
"It is going to be a close affair. I lost to him in the Asian
final (at the same venue in June) but beat him in Pakistan
last year."
Azlan Iskandar
to the New Straits Times |
[2] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt
[5] Tommy Berden (Ned)
10/11(0-2), 11/5, 11/7,
10/11(0-2), 11/3 (77m)
|
100% Unbeaten
Record !!!
 Ramy
Ashour maintained his 100% unbeaten PSA record when he went
against the books once again to beat Stephane Galifi, the
conqueror of top seed Ong Beng Hee yesterday. Galifi looked very
tired today after his 104 minute battle yesterday. In the first
game, it was clean (no shoving and barging at all) and Galifi was
simply out of reach of many of Ashour’s deceptive shots. Ashour was
well in control, dropping just 5 points. Things took a turn in the
second as Ashour was a little impatient and allowed Galifi to take 4
points in a row to lead 4-1, then another 5 points in row to go 9-2
up, which Galifi closed out – one game each. Sensing he stood a
chance of a berth in the semi finals, Galifi stepped up his pace.
 From
here on, Galifi began arguing with the referee (the same one as
yesterday), and attempted to muscle his way through the match.
Ashour, however, continued to play his game and kept his cool. The
16 year old showed a lot of maturity in his game. The third was
pretty much point for point until the change of hands at 7-5, Ashour
leading. Galifi took 6 points in a single hand to lead 2-1.
The fourth game was an interesting one, with Ashour bursting to a
9-5 lead after the players traded point for point up to 5-5. At the
change of hands, Galifi suddenly took 5 points to hold match point.
Ashour saved it to force the tie break, which went see-saw before
the Egyptian youngster squeezed through 16-14. The fifth saw Galifi
take an early 3-0 lead, but in the end it was just not meant to be
for the Frenchman.
A huge sigh of relief was heard from the crowd,
probably as a satisfaction note after Bengy’s loss the night before
as the world junior champion continued his impressive run of results
in the senior ranks.
[Q] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Stephane Galifi (Fra)
11/5, 5/11, 7/11, 11/10(6-4), 11/8 (52m) |
5 games in 25
minutes?
 Yes,
Shahid Zaman and Mohd Essam Hafiz seemed to be out to
break the record for the fastest 5-game match in the new scoring
system today. The first game went to Hafiz, where Zaman was only
allowed 2 serves – at 0-0 and 1-4! The game itself ended in less
time than it took the players to warm up – 3 minutes.
The second went a lot longer, compared to the first, taking 5
minutes, but the score was much closer, with 8 hand outs. Zaman made
the most out of his 5-point run to level the match. Hafiz won the
next in similar fashion to the first – in 3 minutes but this time
Zaman had 3 serves. The fourth saw Hafiz return the favour as he
only got a single point to allow Zaman to force the decider.
 The
fifth was the longest of the games as both players played their
hearts out to fight for a place tomorrow. The early part of the game
was tight with both players chasing down every ball and fighting for
every point. Zaman walked out victorious, for a date tomorrow with
Azlan Iskandar.
Hafiz was today a frustrated person, both with himself and also the
referees. Play was not dirty but many decisions went against him,
some of his own doing thanks to loose shots. Zaman looked a little
unfit, but he is lightning quick and his retrieving abilities were a
marvel to anyone who witnessed his match today.
[4] Shahid Zaman (Pak) bt Essam A Hafiz (Egy)
1/11, 11/6, 2/11, 11/1, 11/5 (25m) |
Oops, what's that ???
|
"I played very poorly in my loss today.
I'm looking forward to getting home for the new year, as I've been
away for seven weeks now!"
Joey Barrington |
|
England Interest Ends
 Wael
El Hindi, the ever smiling Egyptian who is pretty much as well
known as a local now, had the easiest match of the evening. Well, he
didn’t take the shortest time, but it was the only straight games
match of the day since the others all went to the fifth! El Hindi
beat England’s Joey Barrington, the sole English player here.
With an awkward timing for a tournament, who can be surprised that
most of the field comprises of Asian and Middle Eastern players. El
Hindi plays compatriot Ashour tomorrow, which means there will be a
guaranteed Egyptian finalist on Friday.
[3] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)
11/6, 11/5, 11/8 (35m) |
|
|
“It's really frustrating. Despite
giving my best I still lost to a player who is ranked very much
lower than me.
“It was not my day. I believe that despite playing well I am
mentally not strong as at crucial stages I just cannot get the
better of a lower ranked player.”
Ong Beng
Hee
to the Malaysian Star |
|
SOLE ENGLISH REPRESENTATION
Last week, an amazing number of English players made the main draw
of the Women's World Open. Tomorrow, Joey Barrington will be
the sole England player in the quarter finals.
 Sporting a very attention grabbing pair of chilli red court shoes,
Barrington was stretched for over 78 minutes by Kashif Shuja.
The New Zealander once again was impressive with his ever so
delicate drop shots that hugged the walls.
Fitness was definitely a very big factor in Barrington's win but
credit to him for all the hard running he had to do!
[6] Joey
Barrington (Eng) bt
[Q] Khasif Shuja (Nzl)
9/11, 11/7, 11/7, 7/11, 11/3 (78m) |
©SquashSite 2004
|
28-Dec,
Round One:
GALIFI BREAKS
LOCAL HEARTS
Alex Wan reports from KL
Stephane Galifi broke Malaysian hearts tonight, when the Frenchman
beat local favourite Ong Beng Hee, the top seed who was seeking his second
Malaysian Open title here at the National Squash Centre.
 Having
won the first, Galifi led an 8-6 lead slip to allow Bengy to lead 10-8.
Galifi saved 4 game points before succumbing 4-2 in the tie break.
The
third had some good rallies but Bengy pulled through confidently, after
which, I am pretty sure, the majority of the home crowd was expecting a
win.
The next two games were simply nerve wrecking, even for the
spectators as many were seen leaving the hall for a breather - Wael El
Hindi, one of Bengy's old friends on the tour included!
Galifi pulled through after 104 long hard minutes of squash, with plenty
of on-court incident and lots of involvement from the referee, and the home
crowd was left both in shock and disappointment.
“I never expected to beat Beng Hee, Galifi told the Malaysian Star. “It
was a closely fought match and it could have gone either way. But at
crucial stages I managed to get the points to win the match.”
Stephane Galifi (Fra) bt [1] Ong
Beng Hee (Mas)
11/8, 10/11(4-2), 7/11, 11/10(5-3), 11/10(3-1) (104m) |
ASHOUR LEADS THE EGYPTIANS
Over on the side court, another scalp was on the way. Ramy Ashour
once again did what he does best - win matches. He took four games, but
the amount of time it took was less than a third of the Bengy-Galifi
match. Majid Khan started the match promisingly, opening up a 6-0
lead in one hand before Ashour even had a chance to serve. Now that Ashour
was all warmed up, he took the next three games convincingly, in a quick
21 minutes. Ashour fights Galifi for a semi-final berth tomorrow, and
whoever wins will add a milestone to their career.
 Joining
Ashour tomorrow will be compatriots Wael El Hindi and Mohd Essam
Hafiz. El Hindi, a regular to Kuala Lumpur this year, disposed off
Ritwik Bhattarchaya in three fiery games.
This was a physical match, with many obstructions and exchanges of words between
the players. However, the Egyptian 1998 World Junior runner-up was
clearly the more skilful player as he wrong footed the Indian on many
occasions.
[3] Wael
El Hindi (Egy) bt [Q] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind)
11/5, 11/9, 11/9 (34m)
 Mohd Essam Hafiz had to come back from 0-2 down against Pakistani
Arshad Iqbal Burki in the third consecutive physical
match on the all-glass show court. Burki was dwarfed by the 6-foot plus
frame of Hafiz, who was commanding the court. But Burki, in the Pakistani
tradition, is able to hit a fast and hard shot from virtually any corner
of the court. The first game was very close - 20 minutes, 21 change of
hands and 8-6 in the tie-breaker to Burki. The second took less than half
the time and Burki was now 2-0 up. At 5-5 in the third, two runs of three
points each from Hafiz, aided by some decisions from the referee, brought
him back into the match.
Burki
then gave the fourth away in a single hand. A change of shirt saw Burki
come back strongly in the rubber but Hafiz was already beaming in
confidence by now. At 5-2 up, a single hand saw Hafiz wrap the match over
the young Pakistani.
[7] Mohammed Essam A Hafiz (Egy)
bt Arshad
Iqbal Burkhi (Pak)
10/11(6-8), 4/11, 11/7, 11/0, 11/2 (54m)
If Hafiz thought today was a physical and tough game, he could face more
tomorrow, as he has Shahid Zaman for company. The cousin of top
Pakistani player Mansoor Zaman, Shahid met Mohd Azlan Iskandar back in June at the Asian
Championships in a torrid encounter.
Zaman will have all his energy saved up after taking only
16 minutes to dispose local wild card Mohd Shahril Shahidan, while
Hafiz will hope that tomorrow, he will feel as fresh as he did this
morning.
[4] Shahid Zaman (Pak) bt Shandril
Shahidan (Mas)
11/5, 11/4, 11/5 (16m) |
HOME HOPES
REST ON AZLAN
 Tommy
Berden, last seen in this venue retiring from the KL Open in February
with a hand injury, earned his berth in tomorrow's quarter-finals after a
straightforward victory over Australia's Cameron White. The win
sets him up against Malaysian number two Mohd Azlan Iskandar, in a
repeat of the 2003 KL Open final.
Iskandar has improved greatly since then and looked very sharp today
against Indian teenager Saurav Ghosal. 20 minutes was all it
required to earn his place in the quarter final.
[5] Tommy Berden (Ned) bt Cameron White (Aus)
11/7, 11/8, 11/5 (43m)
[2] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
bt [Q] Saurav
Ghosal (Ind)
11/6, 11/5, 11/6 (20m) |
With the exit of Bengy and Shahidan, Iskandar shoulders all national pride
on his very own shoulders. A win tomorrow for Iskandar could possibly set
up a repeat of his Asian Championships team final meeting against
Shahid Zaman.
Alex Wan |
27-Dec,
Final Qualifying:
Ashour & Ghosal pass KL Qualifying
The four qualifiers for the Country View Malaysian Open are a mix of
youth and experience, as two promising youngsters won through while
two others fell at the hands of more experienced opponents ...
Experience Wins
Alex Wan reports from
Kuala Lumpur
 In
the first match of the evening, local youngster Timothy Arnold
faced Khasif Shuja, a Pakistani now playing in Kiwi colours.
Before the match, I managed to speak to Raymond Arnold, the
Malaysian national women’s coach and father to Timothy. I asked if
Timothy had a chance - a straight no came out, but added that
Timothy thinks he has. Today Timothy proved his words as he did give
Shuja a very good fight. Right from the knock up, it was clear this
was going to be an experience vs youth match – Shuja was calmly
driving the ball while Timothy was whacking it hard. While Timothy
was quick and much fitter, Shuja’s controlled match play and
wall-hugging drops were just too much for the youngster. The end
result – experience wears youthfulness out by a whisker. Shuja plays
the flamboyant Joey Barrington tomorrow.
Pakistanis ousted
Any hopes of additional
Pakistani representation in the main draw of the Malaysian Men’s
Open were dashed when both Shamsul Islam Khan and Adil
Maqbool were bundled out in contrasting fashion.
Qualifying 3/4 seed Khan faced the 16-year old World Junior Champion
Ramy Ashour in an amazing display of power play. Both players
were hitting the ball so hard the crowd was thrilled and to a
certain extent, excited! Ashour played typical Egyptian squash –
unpredictable shots coupled with many slams into the nick. Having
won his maiden PSA title in his debut, the lanky Egyptian followed
up with a 46-minute upset of Khan, who only earlier this month, beat
Mohd Azlan Iskandar, the second seed of this championships. The win
earned Ashour a berth against another Pakistani, Majid Khan and
judging by his reaction when the draw was made, I think he thinks he
has a bright chance of continuing his good PSA run.
The 61-minute victory over Bradley Hindle yesterday seem to have
sapped out Adil Maqbool, as he was barely 5 minutes in court today
against India’s London-based Ritwik Bhattacharya. The Indian
was 5-1 up before Maqbool decided to call it a day (and year
literally!). Bhattarchaya now has a date against Wael El Hindi,
who’s had a somewhat, pretty good last few months - stretching much
higher ranked opponents to the limits consistently.
 Match
of the day
As expected, the Saurav Ghosal – Aaron Frankcomb match
was full of energy, as these teenagers both displayed a lot of
hunger in their games. Both of them clearly wanted this match a lot.
Ghosal was quick, witty and took many more chances on his shots,
while Frankcomb was more patient and played a much more stable game.
The match was marred by inconsistent decisions from the local
referee, with both players on the receiving ends (so it was fair?).
In the end, it was Ghosal’s gambles that proved more rewarding as he
squeezed through 11-8 in the 5th after 80 minutes of play. The
victory over a player ranked 32 rungs above earned him a shot
against 2nd seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar. The 2 last met in June at the
Asian Squash Championships where Iskandar ran home with an easy
victory.
©SquashSite 2004
Khasif
Shuja
Shuja is no stranger here in Malaysia. Back in the early and mid
90s, he was a regular feature in our local junior circuit where he
was pretty much the top seed ALL the time. The only players who
really stood a chance against this man were Kenneth Low and Michael
Soo, both of whom have retired from the game, and of course, Ong
Beng Hee.
Shuja was best known for his lightning quick speed on court and
anyone who was drawn to face him in the earlier rounds often feared
of being “embarrassed”.
Shuja’s return to Malaysia this time round marks a few differences
of how I remembered him – he’s slower (and much older obviously and
so am I!), now plays for New Zealand and a much calmer player on
court.
Alex Wan |
26-Dec, Qualifying
round one:
Ramy is no
lame duck ...
Born with a defect in his right leg,
Ramy Ashour underwent
two major operations last year, and it paid off - the world junior
title and victory in his first PSA event
soon followed ...
“Basically, I was born without ligaments in my right leg,” he told
the Malaysian Star.
“I knew about it when I was three but, at that time, I could not be
operated on because the doctor told me that I would not be able to
gain height as I grow up. I would have been stunted for life.”
“So, I had wear braces in my leg until the operations.”
Full story from the Star |
Youngsters Shine
in KL Qualifying
Notwithstanding the terrible events in the region following a major
earthquake, qualifying for the final PSA tournament of the year started in
Kuala Lumpur on 26-Dec with
several fine performances by youngsters starting out on their senior
careers.
Malaysia's Timothy Arnold, 20, beat fellow local hopeful Mohd Azfar to set up a
qualifying final against New Zealand's experienced Khasif Shujah,
top seed in the qualifying event. Arnold was the only Malaysian to
progress, however.
Australia's Aaron Franckomb, 19, will meet India's British Junior
Open champion Saurav Ghosal, 18, for a place in the main draw, both
scoring straight-game victories over locals.
World Junior Champion Ramy Ashour, 17, upset the seedings to beat
fellow Egyptian El Iraky Omar, and faces Pakistan's Shamsul Islam Khan in
tomorrow's qualifying fnals.
The final spot in the main draw will be between another experienced
campaigner, India's Ritwik Bhattacharya, and yet another youngster.
Adil Maqbool, the 16-year-old Pakistani resident in Dubai, recovered from two games down against
Aussie Bradley Hindle, eventually winning in a fifth game tie-break in 61
minutes, the longest match of the day.
Top seeds in the main draw are the hosts' Ong Beng Hee and Azlan Iskandar
... preview
Preview:
PSA Year
ends in KL
 After playing host to the Women's World
Open,
Kuala Lumpur's National Squash Centre is the venue for the final PSA tournament of 2004, with local
favourites Ong Beng Hee and Azlan Iskandar seeded to renew
their rivalry in the final on 31st December.
Beng Hee, three-time and reigning Asian Champion, has been struggling with
his form this year, and having spent the best part of three years in the
world top ten, his current ranking of 17 has caused both himself and
Malaysia's SRAM consternation.
In October he suffered his first defeat at the hands of Iskandar, in the
final of the CAS International, but a hard-earned victory in the
CNS International in November brought
him his
first tour title for almost three years.
 Iskandar
has been steadily rising up the rankings, and is currently just outside
the elite top twenty, at number twenty-one, his highest career position,
with four tour titles to his name, two in 2004.
The pair teamed up in the World Doubles in India, and were seeded two, but
suffered defeats in all three pool qualifying matches and conceded all
their play-off matches.
Should all go to seeding and they meet in the final, Malaysian fans will
have split loyalties but a guaranteed home winner ...
Steve Cubbins
©SquashSite 2004
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