Beng Hee & Azlan In Malaysian Open Shootout
The outcome of today’s (Thursday) quarter-finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championship will ensure local interest in the final of the PSA Tour event in Kuala Lumpur – but it will also provide the eagerly-awaited shootout between the country’s top two players, the Asian Champion Ong Beng Hee and his recent successor as Malaysian number one Mohd Azlan Iskandar.
Iskandar, the top seed, defeated England’s seventh seed Mark Heather 11-6 11-3 10-11 11-9 in 47 minutes while third seed Ong Beng Hee also took four games to overcome India’s Ritwik Bhattacharya, the sixth seed, 11-8 11-8 10-11 11-5 in 54 minutes.
The other semi-finalists defeated their quarter-finals opponents in straight games. Egypt’s Wael El Hindi, the No4 seed, beat Dutchman Dylan Bennett 11-5 11-9 11-9 while second-seeded Canadian Graham Ryding knocked out Zimbabwe qualifier Jesse Engelbrecht 11-7 11-5 11-8.
RESULTS: CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championship, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1st round:
[1] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Kashif Shuja (NZL) 11-7, 11-0, 11-2 (23m)
[7] Mark Heather (ENG) bt [Q] Sherif Moustafa Kamel (EGY) 3-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 (44m)
[3] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Jason Mudge (AUS) 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 (29m)
[6] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) bt Bader Al Hussaini (KUW) 11-4, 5-11, 11-2, 11-5 (27m)
[8] Dylan Bennett (NED) bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 (28m)
[4] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Nicholas Kyme (BER) 11-7, 11-3, 11-9 (21m)
[Q] Jesse Engelbrecht (ZIM) bt [5] Timothy Manning (AUS) 10-11 (1-3), 11-2, 11-5, 11-6 (41m)
[2] Graham Ryding (CAN) bt [Q] Cameron White (AUS) 5-11, 11-2, 11-3, 11-8 (42m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [7] Mark Heather (ENG) 11-6, 11-3, 10-11 (2-4), 11-9 (47m)
[3] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [6] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) 11-8, 11-8, 10-11 (1-3), 11-5 (54m)
[4] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [8] Dylan Bennett (NED) 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 (29m)
[2] Graham Ryding (CAN) bt [Q] Jesse Engelbrecht (ZIM) 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (23m)