Home Title Completes Koukal's Busy Year
by Howard Harding
24 December 2011 - Czech squash star Jan Koukal has completed an historic year on the PSA World Tour in the best possible style - by winning the inaugural SYNOT TIP Open in his home city of Prague.
It was after making squash history by competing in his 25th PSA Tour event of the year that the 28-year-old world No52 then reached the climax of the PSA Challenger 5 event at the Squash Club Praha to clock up his tenth final appearance of 2011.
Top seed Koukal battled for 47 minutes against third seed Kashif Shuja before clinching an 11-7, 12-10, 13-11 victory over the New Zealander to record the 19th Tour title triumph of his career.
"I won in three - but it was a very close and tough match," said the jubilant Koukal at the end of his remarkable Tour journey. "Kashif played very well, but I managed to stay cool at the crucial points and play them a little better!"
Koukal began his remarkable 2011 campaign in January in New York at the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions, the first PSA World Series event of the year. He went on to play in five further Tour events in the USA over the next two months before moving on to Canada, Hong Kong, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Netherlands, Kuwait and Slovakia before returning home to round off the year in the city of his birth.
"I'm so happy to end this incredible and long year with a win, especially here in Prague at home in front of my friends and family.
"I don't think I ever looked so forward to Christmas as this year - as it means a rest for me!"
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 5 SYNOT TIP Open, Prague, Czech Republic
Final:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [3] Kashif Shuja (NZL) 11-7, 12-10, 13-11 (47m)
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