Home Hope Beng Hee Battles Into KL Open Semis by Howard Harding
29 March 2012-
Ong Beng Hee provided unexpected domestic hopes of men's success in the
CIMB Nicol David KL Open when he became the only unseeded player to
reach the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour International 50 squash
event at Berjaya Times Square in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
The Sarawak-born 32-year-old made his first appearance in the event 13
years ago and first won the title in 2008 in his third appearance in
the final. But the former world No7 crashed out at the first hurdle
last year and returned to KL eager to shine in his eighth appearance.
His opponent Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan was also Malaysian, and also unseeded
- and secured his surprise place in the last eight after upsetting
second-seeded compatriot and twice former champion Mohd Azlan Iskandar
in the opening round.
But despite taking 66 minutes to overcome Iskandar, Adnan was still
able to extend his quarter-final opponent for more than an hour and a
half before Beng Hee finally emerged triumphant 12-10, 11-13, 6-11,
11-7, 11-7 in 91 minutes to record his fifth appearance in the
semi-finals in seven years.
The UK-based Malaysian, currently ranked 23 in the world, now faces
Omar Mosaad. The tall No3 seed from Egypt defeated Indian number one
Saurav Ghosal 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7 in 56 minutes.
"Saurav played well in the opening game but gave Omar too many shots at
the front of the court and Omar was looking to use his big thumping
drives to win the points," explained event spokesman Andrew Cross. "It
was very difficult for Saurav despite being so quick - even he couldn't
cover or pick up these shots, his low hard drives seemed to stay so far
up the court sometimes almost bouncing twice before the mid court line."
A shock upset looked on the cards in the opening match of the day when
Hong Kong's Max Lee opened up a two-game lead over England's No4 seed
Adrian Grant.
"When it came to the deciding fifth, Adrian was in full control and
always remained a few points in front and he closed out the match after
73 minutes of play," said Cross, after Grant's 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4,
11-6 victory.
The Londoner will now face top seed Karim Darwish after the world No4
from Egypt despatched Hong Kong qualifier Leo Au 11-5, 11-3, 11-9 in
just 26 minutes.
RESULTS: PSA International 50 CIMB Nicol David KL Open, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Quarter-finals:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [Q] Leo Au (HKG) 11-5, 11-3, 11-9 (26m)
[4] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Max Lee (HKG) 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 (73m)
[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7 (56m)
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 12-10, 11-13, 6-11, 11-7, 11-7 (91m)
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) v [4] Adrian Grant (ENG)
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) v [3] Omar Mosaad (EGY)