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KenGen Parklands Open 2006
07 - 11 Nov,
Nairobi, Kenya, $5k |
11-Nov-06, Semis:
Reda takes
Parklands title
Steve Coppinger reports
The gallery at Parklands Sports Club was packed in anticipation of an
exciting final, with spectators including the Egyptian ambassador.
The game started at a fairly high pace with a lot of hard low hitting but
meant that a lot of lengths fell considerably short of their mark.
Reda managed to capitalise early with the more consistent shots and took
the first game 11-8. Clinton then came back in the second with some great
squash using all 4 corners brilliantly which had the Egyptian in all sorts
of trouble. 1-1.
The next 2 games were almost identical to the first with a bit of scrappy
play in amongst some good lengths from Reda, resulting in a victory for
the Egyptian 3-1. Great game to finish a great tournament. |
Final:
[1] Mohd AA Reda (EGY)bt
Clinton Leeuw (RSA)
11/7, 5/11, 11/8, 11/7 (65m)
Ali Anwar Reda |
10-Nov-06, Semis:
Reda & Leeuw in
Nairobi final
Steve Coppinger reports
I was on first against Mohd AA Reda in the semis. The first
game was a bit scrappy from both of us which he managed to capitalise more
on by claiming 4 or 5 strokes. I couldn't quite recover from that and so
went 1-0 down fairly quickly.
The second was more competitive with the score creeping up evenly, Reda
was finding the more consistent length though and I was struggling to get
comfortable on the ball which made for a lot of running on my behalf.
Second game again to the Egyptian.
This time it was Reda who started to feel the effects of the high ground
and after a few tough rallies at the beginning of the game he lost any
real interest, 2-1. I had a great start in the fourth building up a bit of
a lead, only to lose a few quick points with a few strokes and 'unlucky'
bounces to see the scores level again at 7-7.
A power cut then interrupted at 9-7 to Reda which didn't do my already
slipping focus any favours and two good points from the Egyptian secured
him the match.
Next up was Clinton Leeuw and O'Neil Chilambwe in what was
promising to be a spectacular display of pace and good touch from both.
Once again Clinton built up a good lead in the first only to see it slip
away and O'Neil gratefully snapped it up.
 Clinton
then played some great squash and had O'Neil working from corner to corner
which forced a number of errors from the Zambian. The rest of the match
followed a similar pattern with O'Neil doing most of the running and
occasionally stunning the crowd with his backhand volley drops which left
Clinton stranded.
With the score at 2-1 to Clinton the fourth was full of fireworks, ending
up in a tie break that went to 4-4 with both players making agonising
mistakes on game or match ball respectively. Eventually it was Clinton who
managed to put together a couple of good rallies and take the match 3-1.
An exciting final in store tonight which will hopefully be a fitting end
to a tournament that has been run very smoothly and kept all the players
very happy indeed.
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Draw & Results
Steve Coppinger
Semi-Finals:
[1] Mohd AA Reda (EGY) 3/1
Steve Coppinger (RSA)
Clinton Leeuw (RSA) 3/1
[7] O’Neil Chilambwe (ZAM)
Ali Anwar Reda |
09-Nov-06,
Quarters:
Africans advance
in Nairobi
Steve Coppinger reports
First up on the show court at parklands was the top seed Mohd AA Reda
against the Englishman Thomas Javanaud, who incidentally almost
forgot that he was playing the tournament so missed his flight out here.
Once safely on Kenyan soil after a long night flight he proceeded to go
straight to sleep in his hotel room only to wake up 20 minutes before his
first match. Tom never quite looked comfortable with the conditions and
the altitude definitely took its toll fairly early on in the match as Reda
recorded a straight forward 3-0.
I was on next against Egyptian Omar Aly, the first game was hotly
contested as Aly flung himself around the court much to the delight of the
local crowd although slightly frustrating for myself. I managed to hold
onto the first 11-9 and the next two games were never comfortable but I
managed to hang on to a few points lead throughout despite some outrageous
shots from Omar.
In another all-African quarter was Zambian O'neil Chilambwe against
Ahmed Khalil from Egypt. Both players were taking all the pace off
the ball so the match looked a bit like it was in slow-motion. It seemed
to suit the Zambian better as he showed his sensational touch with a
number of great drops, the Egyptian never really looking to attack. O'Neil
displayed some of the outrageous pace that he is renowned for as he booked
his place in the semis with a 3-0 victory.
The final match was set up to be a great battle and it didn't disappoint.
Clinton Leeuw of RSA against Jens Schoor of Germany. The
South African got off to a good start as he found himself well up in the
first, before suddenly losing focus which allowed the German to sneak the
first game.
Clinton came back in the second and third with some great containing
squash, not allowing Jens any room to play his hard low kills that are so
effective. It was becoming evident that Jens was beginning to feel the
Altitude a bit so money was on Clinton in the fourth. A great fight from
Jens though as he attacked anything a few inches off the side wall saw the
game go to a tie-break which eventually went the German's way.
The fifth was one way traffic as Jens was suffering from 'purple face
syndrome' due to severe lack of Oxygen, a condition that Chris
Tasker-Grindley was the first victim of in Nairobi.
A great match and another African in the semis to complete an all-African
line up. |
Quarter-Finals:
[1] Moh’d AA Reda (EGY) bt [5] Thomas Javanaud (ENG)
11/9, 11/4, 11/6 (35m)
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) bt Omar Tarek Aly (EGY) 12/10, 11/8, 11/7 (40m)
[7] O’Neil Chilambwe (ZAM) bt [3] Ahmed Khalil (EGY)
12/10, 11/5, 11/5, (50m)
Clinton Leeuw (RSA) bt
[2] Jens Schoor (GER)
6/11,11/7,11/7, 14/12(70m)
Reda in action in Nairobi |
08-Nov-06, Round One:
Kenyans out of Parklands tourney
Story by KENNETH NATO, the Daily Nation
All the Kenyan players have been knocked out of the KenGen International
Parklands Open at Parklands Sports Club in Nairobi.
Germany's Jens Schoor, seeded third, took 18 minutes to see off
Kenya's Joseph Ndung'u in a one sided affair, conceding just four
points.
Otto Kwach was knocked out by England's Thomas Javanaud in a
hotly contested match that lasted 45 minutes, the longest of the first
round matches. Javanaud started by claiming the first two games, before
Kwach reduced the arrears with a 13-11 win in the third. Kwach made some
mistakes that cost him the fourth 12-10.
Kenya's main hope, former international Charan Walia, was last to
be bundled out. He went down 3-0 to Egypt's Ahmed Khalil in a span
of 35 minutes. Khalil overwhelmed Walia, who is the national junior coach,
11-4, 11- 7, 11-4.
Top seed Mohammed Ali Anwar Reda of Egypt needed 37 minutes to beat
Zambia's Mordechai Kabamba 3-0.
South
Africa's Clinton Leeuw upset pre match favourite third seeded
England's Chris Tasker-Grindley 3-0, while Egypt's Omar Talek
humbled fourth seeded Adham Taleb of Italy 3-0 in a match that
lasted half an hour.
Karim AGA Samy was the only Egyptian who failed to qualify for the
quarter-finals, by losing to Zambia's O'Neil Chilambwe 3-0.
Chilambwe, a three-time Safari International Circuit champion, took 35
minutes to beat the Egyptian.
South Africa's Stephen Coppinger strolled to the last eight without
sweat after his rival, sixth seed Supreet Singh of India, failed to turn
up. |
Thanks to Steve Coppinger for the
early results ...
Ali Anwar Reda
Steve Coppinger
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 KenGen
Parklands
Open 2006
Nairobi, Kenya, 07 - 11 Nov, $5k |
Round One
08 Nov |
Quarters
09 Nov |
Semis
10 Nov |
Final
11 Nov |
[1] Mohd. Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
11/5, 11/4, 11/7 (37m)
[Q] Mordechai Kabamba (Ngr) |
Mohd. Ali Anwar Reda
11/9, 11/4, 11/6 (35m)
Thomas Javanaud |
Ali Anwar Reda
3/1
Steve Coppinger |
Ali Anwar Reda
11/7, 5/11, 11/8, 11/7 (65m)
Clinton Leeuw |
[5] Thomas Javanaud
(Eng)
11/8, 11/6, 11/13, 12/10 (45m)
[Q] Otto Kwatch (Ngr) |
[4] Adham Abou Taleb (Ita)
11/7, 11/5, 11/7 (30m)
Omar Tarek Mahm Aly (Egy) |
Omar Tarek Aly
11/10(2-0), 11/8, 11/7 (40m)
Steve Coppinger |
Steve Coppinger
(Rsa)
w/o
Supreet Singh (Ind) |
O'Neil Chilambwe Zam)
11/7, 11/7, 11/8 (39m)
Karim Sawy (Ngr) |
O'Neil Chilambwe
11/10(2-0), 11/5, 11/5 (50m)
Ahmed Khalil |
O'Neil Chilambwe
3/1Clinton
Leeuw |
[3] Ahmed Khalil
(Egy)
11/4, 11/7, 11/4 (35m)
[Q] Charan Walia (Ngr) |
Clinton Leeuw (Rsa)
11/5, 11/7, 12/10 (30m)
[8]
Chris Tasker-Grindley
(Eng) |
Clinton Leeuw
6/11, 11/7, 11/7, 11/10(3-1) (70m)
Jens Schoor |
[Q] Joseph Ndungu (Ngr)
11/2, 11/2, 11/0 (18m)
[2] Jens Schoor (Ger) |
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