WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: AirAsia Asian Squash Championships, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Men's final:
[1] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [2] Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 9-2, 4-9, 10-8, 9-6

Women's final:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [3/4] Sharon Wee (MAS) 9-4, 9-2, 9-2

Beng Hee & Nicol Clinch Malaysian Asian Championships Double

Nicol David and Ong Beng Hee claimed a notable double for Malaysia in today's (Tuesday) finals of the AirAsia Asian Squash Championships with victories over Sharon Wee and Mansoor Zaman, respectively, at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil, near Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia.

Nicol David was a class above compatriot Sharon Wee, her training mate in Amsterdam.  The 20-year-old world No8 from Penang crushed the 3/4 seed, who reached the final after upsetting two-times runner-up Rebecca Chiu in the previous round, in straight games.

Nicol's 9-4 9-2 9-2 victory gives the twice former world junior champion a fourth consecutive Asian Championship title - equalling the record set by Mah Li Lian of Singapore.  It was also a morale-boosting win for the nation's most successful woman squash players of all-time - who took time off from the sport last year to 'recharge her batteries', and came back to reach a career-high world No8 in February.  Today's success marks the first major title won by Nicol David since she lifted the biennial title last time in May 2002.

In the men's final, Ong Beng Hee had an easy first game win - but Mansoor Zaman, the No2 seed from Pakistan who had lost to the Malaysian in the past two finals, stepped up the pace and executed his fine front court shots to take the second game.

In the third game, Mansoor, the world No19 currently one place higher than Beng Hee in the world rankings, reached game ball at 8-5 - but the local hero kept his usual cool and levelled the score in a single hand before clinching the game to go 2/1 ahead.

It was neck to neck in the fourth until four-all.  Two errors by Beng Hee gave the left-hander from Peshawar a 6-4 lead.  Beng Hee, however, caught up in one change of service and went 7-6 up with another change of service.  A perfectly-executed wall-clinging forehand drive finally gave Beng Hee the match ball and a 9-2 4-9 10-8 9-6 victory.

Beng Hee's hat-trick made him the first player to win the title for a third time since the inception of the Asian Championships in 1981 in Karachi.