Local hero Leo Au continued his giant-killing run in the inaugural HKFC Meco Invitational today when he removed higher-ranked Egyptian Amr Khaled Khalifa to reach the semi-finals of the of the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event at Hong Kong Football Club in Happy Valley, Hong Kong.
The 22-year-old Hong Kong qualifier made his breakthrough in the first round when he ousted third seed Ong Beng Hee.
But Au had no intentions of resting there. Spurred on by the partisan crowd, the world No75 reached 25 places higher to crown Khalifa 12-10, 11-7, 11-8 in 50 minutes.
The Hong Kong number two now has his toughest task - top seed Omar Mosaad. The world No13 from Egypt was taken to four games before getting on top of unseeded Frenchman Gregoire Marche 11-9, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 in 58 minutes.
An upset in the lower half of the draw means that Au now carries local interest into the semi-finals single-handedly after the shock exit of fourth seed Max Lee, the Hong Kong number one.
Lee, the world No36, took the opening game against Muhd Asyraf Azan for the loss of just two points. But the world No62 from Malaysia began to take charge of the game thereafter and, after 76 minutes, celebrated a 2-11, 11-9, 15-13, 5-11, 11-9 win.
Azan moves on to face Finland's Olli Tuominen, though the No2 seed had to battle for 67 minutes to overcome India's Siddharth Suchde 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, 11-8.
RESULTS: PSA International 25 HKFC Meco Invitational, Happy Valley, Hong Kong China
Quarter-finals:
[1] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 11-9, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 (58m)
[Q] Leo Au (HKG) bt Amr Khaled Khalifa (EGY) 12-10, 11-7, 11-8 (50m)
Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) bt [4] Max Lee (HKG) 2-11, 11-9, 15-13, 5-11, 11-9 (76m)
[2] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt Siddharth Suchde (IND) 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, 11-8 (67m)
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [Q] Leo Au (HKG)
[2] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS)
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