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Asian Squash Championships, Kuwait
21-Feb:
Clean
Sweep For Malaysia In Asian Team Championships
Malaysia
celebrated a clean sweep in the Asian Squash Championships
for the second successive time after winning both the Men's and
Women's Team titles to add to the individual trophies won earlier in
the week in Kuwait.
Hosts Kuwait,
celebrating their maiden appearance in an Asian team final, put up a
brave performance against favourites Malaysia. Mohd Azlan
Iskandar, winner of the individual gold medal for the first
time, beat Kuwait's Abdullah Almezayen 10-8, 9-2, 9-6 to put the top seeds
ahead.
But, to the delight of
local fans, Ali Alramezi pounced back to beat third string
Malaysian Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 9-2, 10-8, 9-4 in 67 minutes
to tie the tie.
However, Ong Beng Hee
- the Malaysian number two who was denied a fifth successive
individual gold medal by team-mate Iskandar - beat Kuwait hero
Salem F Mohammed 9-3, 9-0, 9-8 in 41 minutes to give Malaysia
the men's gold medal for the third time since 2000.
In the play-off for third
place, Pakistan - denied a place in the final by Kuwait for
the first in the event's history - salvaged some pride by beating
India 2/1.
Malaysia
beat Hong Kong in the women's final for the third time - but
for the first time were taken the full distance. Six-time
individual champion Nicol David beat Hong Kong rival
Rebecca Chiu 9-1, 9-5, 9-0 in the opening runner to put
Malaysian ahead. But Joey Chan forced a decider when she defeated Malaysia's
Delia Arnold 9-3, 9-3, 5-9, 9-2 in a tense third string
encounter.
But experienced Sharon
Wee saved the day with a 9-6, 9-2, 6-9, 9-1 defeat of Hong
Kong's Elise Ng to give the title to Malaysia for the fourth
time in a row.
Japan
claimed the bronze medal for the third time by beating South
Korea 2/0 in the third place play-off.
Men's final:
MALAYSIA bt KUWAIT 2-1
Mohd Azlan Iskandar bt
Abdullah Almezayen 10-8, 9-2, 9-6 (43m)
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan
lost to Ali Alramezi 2-9, 8-10, 4-9 (67m)
Ong Beng Hee bt Salem F
Mohammed 9-3, 9-0, 9-8 (41m)
3rd place play-off:
PAKISTAN bt INDIA 2-1
Yasir Butt lost to
Saurav Ghosal 8-10, 9-4, 5-9, 1-9 (52m)
Bilal Zaman bt Siddharth Suchde 9-2, 7-9, 9-10, 9-5, 9-1 (79m)
Majid Khan bt Ritwik
Bhattacharya 9-4, 1-9, 5-9, 9-3, 9-1 (92m)
5th place play-off:
HONG KONG bt JAPAN 2-0
Dick Lau bt Jun
Matsumoto 9-5, 9-0, 9-2 (35m)
Anson Kwong bt Yuta
Fukui 9-3, 9-3, 9-2 (36m)
7th place play-off:
SOUTH KOREA bt SRI LANKA
2-1
Lee Nyeon-Ho lost to
Navin Samarasinghe 5-9, 9-4, 4-9, 5-9 (48m)
Se Hyun Lee bt Eranga
Amunagama 9-3, 9-6, 9-2 (12m)
Kim Hyun-Dong bt Anura
Hewage w/o
9th place play-off:
QATAR bt CHINA 3-0
Mohammed Al Marri bt
Meng Xiaomin 9-10, 9-3, 9-5, 9-2 (60m)
Abdul Rahman Al-Malki bt
Pinghua Cai 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 (12m)
Ahmad Mohd Al Tamimi bt
Ren Zengli 9-2, 6-9, 9-4, 9-0 (30m)
11th place
play-off:
IRAN bt CHINESE TAIPEI 2-1
Mohammad Hossei Jafari
Nadoushan bt Chang Chun-Yu 9-2, 9-0, 9-0 (16m)
Alireza Sanaei lost to
Cheng Yao Huang 4-9, 3-9, 3-9 (37m)
Seyed Mohammad Hossein
Sanaee bt Chuang Kai-Han 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 (14m)
13th place: MACAU
Women's final:
MALAYSIA bt
HONG KONG 2-1
Nicol David bt Rebecca
Chiu 9-1, 9-5, 9-0 (21m)
Delia Arnold lost to
Joey Chan 3-9, 3-9, 9-5, 2-9 (48m)
Sharon Wee bt Elise Ng
9-6, 9-2, 6-9, 9-1 (37m)
3rd place play-off:
JAPAN bt SOUTH KOREA 2-0
Chinatsu Matsui bt Park
Eun Ok 9-4, 9-6, 9-2 (51m)
Misaki Kobayashi bt Song
Sun-Mi 9-2, 9-4, 9-3 (27m)
5th place play-off:
INDIA bt CHINA 2-0
Joshna Chinappa bt Wu
Zhenzhen 9-6, 9-0, 9-1 (19m)
Surbhi Misra bt Xiu Chen
9-0, 9-2, 9-0 (15m)
7th place
play-off:
CHINESE TAIPEI bt MACAU
2-0
Hung Ning Yu bt Si Man
Wendy Chan 6-9, 9-4, 9-6, 9-0 (36m)
Hsieh Ssu Han bt Sam Hei
Tong 9-0, 9-2, 9-3 (21m)
20-Feb-08:
Hosts Kuwait Conquer Pakistan In
Historic Asian Upset
In
the most remarkable upset in the 27-year history of the event, hosts
Kuwait today (Wednesday) beat former champions Pakistan
in the semi-finals of the Asian Squash Team Championships to
deny the region's long-time rulers of men's squash a place in the
final for the first time.
Pakistan won the inaugural championship in 1981 - and continued to
rule unopposed in Asia until losing to Malaysia in the 2000
final.
But
determined efforts by unsung Kuwaiti heroes Salem F Mohammed
and Abdullah Almezayen consigned Pakistan to semi-final
losers in the 14th staging of the event. Mohammed, aged 20 and the
world No 253 in June 2006, despatched Pakistan's world No 69
Yasir Butt 9-7, 9-5, 3-9, 4-9, 9-7 in 78 minutes.
Abdullah Almezayen, also a 20-year-old - who reached the semi-finals
of the individual event as a 9/16 seed - then battled back from two
games down to overcome Pakistan No1 Shahid Zaman 6-9, 5-9,
9-3, 9-5, 9-2 in 67 minutes to clinch the hosts' sensational
victory.
First-time finalists Kuwait will now meet Malaysia in the
final after the defending champions beat India 2/0 in the
other semi-final.
In
the women's event, title-holders Malaysia beat Japan
2/0 and will meet Hong Kong in the final for the third
successive time.
Men's semi-finals:
MALAYSIA bt INDIA 2-0
Ong Beng Hee bt Ritwik Bhattacharya 10-9, 10-8, 9-3 (41m)
Mohd Azlan Iskandar bt Saurav Ghosal 6-9, 9-5, 9-0, 9-4 (62m)
KUWAIT bt PAKISTAN 2-0
Salem F Mohammed bt Yasir Butt 9-7, 9-5, 3-9, 4-9, 9-7 (78m)
Abdullah Almezayen bt Shahid Zaman 6-9, 5-9, 9-3, 9-5, 9-2 (67m)
5th
- 8th place play-offs:
JAPAN bt SOUTH KOREA 2-1
Takanori Shimizu lost to Kim Hyun-Dong 6-9, 1-9, 8-10 (64m)
Jun Matsumoto bt Lee Nyeon-Ho 10-8, 9-7, 9-5 (24m)
Yuta Fukui bt Lee Seung Taek 9-1, 9-4, 9-1 (30m)
HONG
KONG bt SRI LANKA 2-0
Wai Hang Wong bt Eranga Amunagama 9-5, 9-0, 9-1 (25m)
Dick Lau bt Navin Samarasinghe 9-2, 9-4, 9-2 (33m)
Women's Semi-finals:
MALAYSIA bt JAPAN 2-0
Sharon Wee bt Kozue Onizawa 9-6, 9-5, 9-2 (27m)
Nicol David bt Chinatsu Matsui 9-2, 9-5, 9-3 (27m)
HONG
KONG bt SOUTH KOREA 2-0
Elise Ng bt Ahn Eun Chan 9-7, 9-3, 9-5 (45m)
Rebecca Chiu bt Park Eun Ok 9-1, 9-3, 9-3 (26m)
5th
- 8th place play-offs:
CHINA bt MACAU 2-0
Jiang Li bt Maria Estela Gageiro Madeira 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (14m)
Wu
Zhenzhen bt Si Man Wendy Chan 9-2, 9-3, 9-0 (15m)
INDIA bt CHINESE TAIPEI 2-0
Surbhi Misra bt Li Chun Ping 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 (10m)
Anwesha Reddy bt Hung Ning Yu 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 (18m)
Asian Squash Championships, Kuwait
20-Feb-08:
Malaysia Celebrate Asian Squash Double
Top
seeds Mohd Azlan Iskandar and Nicol David celebrated
the fifth successive Malaysian double in the Asian Squash
Championships - but did so in contrasting styles in the 14th
staging of the biennial event in Kuwait.
In
the men's final, Iskandar was made to battle for exactly two hours
by compatriot Ong Beng Hee - the defending champion, ranked
two places lower in the world - before winning 5-9, 8-10, 9-5, 9-0,
9-7 to secure the title for the first time.
The
match was a repeat of the 2006 final in Chinese Taipei, in which
Beng Hee won the regional title for a fourth successive time.
But,
arguably, the standout performance in the men's event was made by
20-year-old Abdullah Almezayen - a 9/16 seed who upset
Pakistan's 5/8 seed Yasir Butt 9-3, 10-9, 4-9, 5-9, 10-8 in
98 minutes in the last sixteen before overcoming India's 3/4 seed
Saurav Ghosal in a 72-minute quarter-final to become the first
Kuwaiti to reach the semi-finals this decade.
The
women's event saw Malaysia's Nicol David confirm her status as the
undisputed Queen of Asian Squash when she beat long-time Hong Kong
rival Rebecca Chiu 9-5, 9-2, 9-2 in 34 minutes in the final.
David, voted the 'Asian Sportswoman of the Year' in December, has
now won the prestigious title for a remarkable six times in a row -
since first claiming the crown in 1998 as a 14-year-old!
The
triumph also marks the fourth Asian Championship final in which
David has beaten Chiu - and brings the total of her regional singles
titles (including the Asian Games and Asian Junior
Championships) to ten!
Men's 2nd round:
[1]
Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Abdul Rahman Al-Malki (QAT) 9-0, 9-0,
9-0 (21m)
Yuta
Fukui (JPN) bt [9/16] Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) 9-7, 2-9, 5-9, 9-3, 9-7
(64m)
[9/16] Majid Khan (PAK) bt Navin Samarasinghe (SRI) 9-2, 9-4, 9-6
(24m)
[5/8] Dick Lau (HKG) bt Ammar Al-Tamimi (KUW) 9-2, 9-2, 2-9, 9-2
(32m)
Mohammed Hajeyah (KUW) bt [5/8] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) 9-4, 3-9,
9-5, 6-9, 10-8 (93m)
[9/16] Bilal Zaman (PAK) bt Alireza Sanaei (IRI) 9-5, 9-3, 9-4 (19m)
Mohammad Hossei Jafari Nadoushan (IRI) bt [9/16] Mohd Oltuarir (KUW)
6-9, 10-9, 3-9, 9-1, 9-1
[3/4] Shahid Zaman (PAK) bt Anson Kwong (HKG) 9-3, 9-1, 9-3 (25m)
[3/4] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Ali Alramezi (KUW) 9-2, 9-2, 9-2 (35m)
[9/16] Max Lee (HKG) bt Kim Hyun-Dong (KOR) 10-8, 9-2, 9-5
[9/16] Abdullah Almezayen (KUW) bt Takanori Shimizu (JPN) 9-2, 9-4,
9-1 (45m)
[5/8] Yasir Butt (PAK) bt Jun Matsumoto (JPN) 9-1, 9-5, 9-3 (25m)
[5/8] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt Nasser B Al-Ramzi (KUW) 0-9,
9-4, 9-6, 9-2
[9/16] Siddharth Suchde (IND) bt Cheng Yao Huang (TPE) 9-1, 9-3, 9-2
(30m)
[9/16] Wai Hang Wong (HKG) bt Naresh Kumar (IND) 9-1, 9-4, 9-1 (34m)
[2]
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Armando Amante (MAC) 9-2, 9-2, 9-2
3rd round:
[1]
Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Yuta Fukui (JPN) 9-2, 9-2, 9-0 (23m)
[9/16] Majid Khan (PAK) bt [5/8] Dick Lau (HKG) 9-5, 9-3, 2-9, 9-4
(55m)
[9/16] Bilal Zaman (PAK) bt Mohammed Hajeyah (KUW) 9-3, 9-5, 9-7
(38m)
[3/4] Shahid Zaman (PAK) bt Mohammad Hossei Jafari Nadoushan (IRI)
9-1, 9-5, 9-8 (37m)
[3/4] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [9/16] Max Lee (HKG) 9-3, 9-1, 9-1
(48m)
[9/16] Abdullah Almezayen (KUW) bt [5/8] Yasir Butt (PAK) 9-3, 10-9,
4-9, 5-9, 10-8 (98m)
[9/16] Siddharth Suchde (IND) bt [5/8] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)
6-9, 9-3, 7-9, 9-5, 9-6 (106m)
[2]
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [9/16] Wai Hang Wong (HKG) 9-3, 9-2, 10-9
(39m)
Quarter-finals:
[1]
Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [9/16] Majid Khan (PAK) 9-0, 9-0, 9-1
(33m)
[3/4] Shahid Zaman (PAK) bt [9/16] Bilal Zaman (PAK) 10-8, 9-3, 9-6
(47m)
[9/16] Abdullah Almezayen (KUW) bt [3/4] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 8-10,
9-4, 9-1, 9-3 (72m)
[2]
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [9/16] Siddharth Suchde (IND) 9-2, 9-3, 8-10,
9-2 (62m)
Semi-finals:
[1]
Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [3/4] Shahid Zaman (PAK) 9-2, 9-4, 9-6
(42m)
[2]
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [9/16] Abdullah Almezayen (KUW) 9-3, 9-2, 9-5
(51m)
Final:
[1]
Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [2] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 5-9, 8-10, 9-5,
9-0, 9-7 (120m)
Women's 1st round:
[1]
Nicol David (MAS) bye
[9/16] Kim Jin-Hee (KOR) bt Xu Li (CHN) 9-2, 9-0, 9-0 (12m)
[9/16] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt Li Chun Ping (TPE) 9-0, 9-1, 9-0 (9m)
[5/8] Chinatsu Matsui (JPN) bt Harita Omprakash (IND) 9-4, 9-0, 9-3
(32m)
[5/8] Elise Ng (HKG) bt Jiang Li (CHN) 9-1, 9-4, 9-1 (19m)
[9/16] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) bt Maria Estela Gageiro Madeira
(MAC) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 (10m)
[9/16] Song Sun-Mi (KOR) bt Pan Kuei Yeh (TPE) 10-8, 9-0, 9-0 (13m)
[3/4] Christina Mak (HKG) bt Surbhi Misra (IND) 9-0, 9-6, 9-7 (21m)
[3/4] Sharon Wee (MAS) bt Xiu Chen (CHN) 9-1, 9-1, 9-1 (12m)
[9/16] Anwesha Reddy (IND) bt Hsieh Ssu Han (TPE) 9-1, 9-0, 9-1
(10m)
[9/16] Maria Toor Pakay (PAK) bt Sam Hei Tong (MAC) 9-0, 9-0, 9-2
(10m)
[5/8] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt Wu Zhenzhen (CHN) 9-0, 9-4, 9-1 (17m)
[5/8] Delia Arnold (MAS) bt Hung Ning Yu (TPE) 9-3, 9-1, 9-0 (20m)
[9/16] Park Eun Ok (KOR) bt Kozue Onizawa (JPN) 9-5, 9-0, 9-2 (29m)
[9/16] Ahn Eun Ok (KOR) bt Si Man Wendy Chan (MAC) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
(8m)
[2]
Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt Yuki Omiya (JPN) 9-2, 9-1, 9-0 (23m)
2nd round:
[1]
Nicol David (MAS) bt [9/16] Kim Jin-Hee (KOR) 9-3, 9-0, 9-0 (20m)
[9/16] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt [5/8] Chinatsu Matsui (JPN) 4-9, 9-6,
6-9, 9-2, 9-2 (65m)
[5/8] Elise Ng (HKG) bt [9/16] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) 9-2, 9-7, 9-2
(26m)
[3/4] Christina Mak (HKG) bt [9/16] Song Sun-Mi (KOR) 9-5, 4-9, 9-7,
9-4 (55m)
[3/4] Sharon Wee (MAS) bt [9/16] Anwesha Reddy (IND) 9-1, 9-4, 9-6
(34m)
[5/8] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [9/16] Maria Toor Pakay (PAK) 9-1,
9-6, 9-2 (31m)
[5/8] Delia Arnold (MAS) bt [9/16] Park Eun Ok (KOR) 9-2, 3-9, 9-2,
9-4 (41m)
[2]
Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt [9/16] Ahn Eun Ok (KOR) 9-5, 9-1, 9-1 (23m)
Quarter-finals:
[1]
Nicol David (MAS) bt [9/16] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 9-2, 9-4, 9-4 (25m)
[3/4] Christina Mak (HKG) bt [5/8] Elise Ng (HKG) 9-4, 9-6, 9-3
(35m)
[5/8] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [3/4] Sharon Wee (MAS) 9-5, 4-9, 9-7,
9-5 (55m)
[2]
Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt [5/8] Delia Arnold (MAS) 9-7, 9-4, 9-1 (33m)
Semi-finals:
[1]
Nicol David (MAS) bt [3/4] Christina Mak (HKG) 9-0, 9-2, 9-0 (16m)
[2]
Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt [5/8] Joshna Chinappa (IND) 9-0, 9-2 ret.
(10m)
Final:
[1]
Nicol David (MAS) bt [2] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) 9-5, 9-2, 9-2 (34m)
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