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 CIMB
Malaysian Open 2005
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 14-19 November, $30k |
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Photos by
Alex Wan
www.AlexWan.net
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19-Nov, Final:
[3] Ong Beng Hee bt [4] Wael El Hindi
11/10(3-1), 11/6, 8/11, 11/7 (71m)
Beng Hee keeps title
for Malaysia
Having beaten defending champion Azlan Iskandar in a marathon semi-final, Ong
Beng Hee made sure the Malaysian Open title stayed in home hands as
he won another long battle against Wael El Hindi, condemning the
Egyptian to runners-up spot for the second successive year.
Winner here five years ago, the victory was Beng Hee's tenth PSA
title, and the biggest since winning the Macau Open back in November
2001.
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 "Five years ago,
I was riding high and everything was going my way. But this win is
more important because I really needed to prove to everyone that I
am on my way back.
"There has been a lot of pressure on me lately. After this win some
of the pressure will be lifted.
"It also proves that everything which I am doing right now –
changing my playing style and working with David Pearson – are the
right moves to improve my standard.
"I played my best squash all year in this tournament. The confidence
is slowly returning and I hope to do better in future."
Ong Beng Hee |
CIMB
Malaysian Open 2005
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 14-19 November, $30k
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Round One
Nov 16 |
Quarters
Nov 17 |
Semis
Nov 18 |
Final
Nov 19 |
[1] Azlan
Iskandar (Mas)
11/7, 11/0, 11/2 (23 m)
Kashif
Shuja (Nzl) |
Azlan
Iskandar
11/6, 11/3, 10/11 (2-4), 11/9 (47m)
Mark Heather |
Azlan
Iskandar
11/7, 11/8, 7/11, 7/11, 11/4
(102m)
Ong Beng Hee |
Ong Beng Hee
11/10 (3-1), 11/6, 8/11, 11/7 (71m)
Wael El Hindi |
Mark Heather (Eng)
3/11, 11/2, 11/8, 11/5
[Q]
Sherif Moustafa Kamel (Egy) |
[3] Ong Beng Hee
(Mas)
11/6, 11/7, 11/9 (29 m)
[Q] Jason Mudge (Aus) |
Ong Beng Hee
11/8, 11/8, 10/11 (1-3), 11/5 (54m)
Ritwik Bhattacharya |
[8] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind)
11/4, 5/11, 11/2, 11/5 (27 m)
[LL]
Bader Al Hussaini (Kuw) |
Mohd
Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)
11/6, 11/8, 11/7 (28 m)
Dylan Bennett (Ned) |
Dylan Bennett
11/5, 11/9, 11/9 (29m)
Wael El Hindi |
Wael El Hindi
3/11, 11/7, 11/3, 11/10 (3-1) (60m)
Graham Ryding |
[LL] Nick
Kyme (Ber)
11/7, 11/3, 11/9 (21 m)
[4] Wael
El Hindi (Egy) |
[Q] Jesse Engelbrecht (Zim)
10/11 (1-3), 11/2, 11/5, 11/6 (41 m)
[7] Tim Manning (Aus) |
Jesse Engelbrecht
11/7, 11/5, 11/8 (23m)
Graham Ryding |
[Q]
Cameron White (Aus)
5/11, 11/2, 11/3, 11/8 (42 m)
[2] Graham Ryding (Can) |
Qualifying:
Finals, 15-Nov:
Jesse Engelbrecht (Zim) bt
Nick Kyme (Ber)
11/7, 11/3, 11/9 (38m)
Sherif Moustafa Kamel (Egy) bt
Bader Al Hussaini (Kuw) 11/8, 11/6, 11/7 (41m)
Jason Mudge (Aus) bt
Tim Arnold (Mas)
11/9, 11/6, 11/2 (41m)
Cameron White (Aus) bt Duncan Walsh (Eng)
11/3, 11/4, 11/6 (47m)
First Round 14-Nov:
Nick Kyme (Ber) bt Mohd Azfar Azan (Mas) 11/8, 11/4, 11/6 (25m)
Jesse Engelbrecht (Zim) bt Ivan Yuen (Mas) 11/4, 11/5, 11/9 (31m)
Bader Al Hussaini (Kuw) bt Mohd Shahril Shahidan (Mas) 11/10(2-0),
11/4, 11/10(2-0) (30m)
Sherif Moustafa Kamel (Egy) bt Mohammed Hajeyah (Kuw) 11/8,
11/9, 11/4 (41m)
Tim Arnold (Mas) bt Elvinn Keo (Mas) 11/5, 7/11, 11/5, 11/8 (39m)
Jason Mudge (Aus) bt Choong Kam Hing (Mas) 11/7, 11/4, 11/5 (21m)
Duncan Walsh (Eng) bt Mohd Nafzahizam (Mas) 11/3, 11/8, 11/8 (21m)
Cameron White (Aus) bt Mohd Asyraf Azan (Mas) 11/3, 11/2, 11/4 (16m)
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17-Nov, Quarters:
Malaysian Finalist Assured
A home finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open is guaranteed, as
Azlan Iskandar and Ong Beng Hee both came through testing
quarter-final matches at the National Squash Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Defending champion Iskandar took 47 minutes to defeat Mark
Heather in four games, and Beng Hee 54 minutes to see off new Indian
National champion Ritwik Bhattacharya, again in four games.
The winner of the 'Malaysian semi' will meet the winner of
Graham Ryding, the Canadian second seed, and Wael El Hindi,
the Egyptian who was runner-up to Iskandar last year. Both scored
straight-game wins in their semi-finals in under 30 minutes.
16-Nov: Round One
All-Malaysian Semi still on
The first round of the CIMB
Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur saw the top seeds safely through to
the quarters, with only Zimbabwe's qualifier Jesse Engelbrecht
upsetting the seedings.
Defending champion Azlan Iskandar eased past Kashif Shuja, and with
the hosts' Ong Beng Hee winning the prospect of an all-Malaysian
semi-final is still on, with Azlan facing England's Mark Heather,
and Beng Hee squaring up to new Indian champion Ritwik Bhattacharya
in the quarters.
"I am playing better now and more confident," Beng Hee told the
Malay Mail. "The pressure will be on my opponents as I have changed
my style of play.
"I’m enjoying my squash and there is plenty to look forward to after
this. I’ve never lost to Ritwik and I want to maintain that record
before focusing on the clash against Azlan."
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Quarter-Finals:
Azlan Iskandar bt Mark Heather
11/6, 11/3, 12/14, 11/9
Ong Beng Hee bt Ritwik Bhattacharya
11/8, 11/8, 11/13, 11/5
Wael El Hindi bt Dylan Bennett
11/5, 11/9, 11/9
Graham Ryding bt Jesse Engelbrecht
11/7, 11/5, 11/8
 “The
rallies were long in the first game, which allowed me to get a feel
of the court.
“It was very tight after the midway mark of the first game. I was
leading 6-0 when I started to make mistakes. Kashif is an
experienced player and he managed to get back into the match.
“It was a good first round for me. Now I just need to keep it going
for the rest of the tournament.”
Azlan Iskandar
to the Star Online |
18-Nov, Semi-Finals:
Beng Hee wins Malaysian Duel
 Malaysia's top
two met in the semi-finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open, and after a
marathon five-game 102-minute battle it was Ong Beng Hee who
emerged triumphant.
Beng Hee, only recently overtaken by Iskandar as the Malaysian
number one, turned the tables on his rival after letting a 2-0 lead
slip.
Iskandar, the defending champion, fought back to level the match,
but ran out of steam in the fifth as Beng Hee raced to a 9/0 lead
before wraping up the match.
In the final Beng Hee faces Egyptian Wael El Hindi, last
year's runner-up, who beat second seed Graham Ryding in four games. |
Semi-Finals:
[3] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt
[1] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
11/7, 11/8, 7/11, 7/11, 11/4 (102m)
[4] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt
[2] Graham Ryding (Can)
3/11, 11/7, 11/3, 11/10 (3-1) (60m)
"I thought he was going to
give up in the third game. Azlan surprised me when he came
back stronger despite being two games down.
"Azlan forced me to play well in the fifth game. I had to take
some chances by hitting winners and it paid off.
"My confidence is back. Mentally, I am ready to face Wael and
I am hoping my body can recover in time."
Ong Beng Hee |
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Home Hopes High in Malaysia
 Hopes
for a home double are high in Malaysia, with Azlan Iskandar
seeded to retain his Malaysian Open title, following on from Nicol
David's victory in the women's event in May.
Qualifying at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalal saw seven
Mlaaysians fall in round one, and Timothy Arnold departing in round
two - also missing out on the two 'lucky loser' spots.
With Iskandar and Ong Beng Hee in the main draw the local
fans will have ample opportunity to support their favourites,
although the redraw moved Beng Hee up to the top half, dashing hopes
of an all-Malaysian final. |
The
weather here in Malaysia is HOT!! not rubbing it in as you are in
the cold ... anyways, all the seeds went through in the first round
qualifying beating 7 locals, mainly Malaysian juniors.
The crowd hasn't been massive I would say, but it's nice to see that
we have a few junior players in this event as it can only be good
for them.
There was a press conference today at the offices of the title
sponsor CIMB, with lots of press there, and it went very well.
The hotel seems nice, and it's located right next to a water theme
park and a big shopping centre (part of the Malaysian mastermind
plan to tire the boys out!!).
There were two lucky losers, but Malaysia didn't get one of them -
how unfortunate. Anyway, will keep you informed as the tournament
progresses.
Azlan Iskandar
Sixth and fifth seeds Arshad Iqbal Burki (Visa problems)
and Raj Nanda have withdrawn, causing a redraw and leaving
six qualifying places open ... |
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