Home Heroes Swim Into Royal Lake Club Quarters by Howard Harding 9 October 2013
- There will be Malaysian interest in all but one of the quarter-finals
of the Royal Lake Club Open after a good day for local players in
today's opening round of the PSA World Tour Challenger 15 squash event
in its second year at the Royal Lake Club in Kuala Lumpur.
The top two seeds are
on course to meet in an all-Malaysian final. Experienced event
favourite Ong Beng Hee dropped a game to compatriot Sanjay Singh but
needed only 38 minutes to despatch the event wildcard 11-7, 11-4, 8-11,
11-5.
But second seed Mohd
Nafiizwan Adnan had to fight for 71 minutes before prevailing 12-10,
13-15, 11-4, 11-5 over Welshman Peter Creed.
Beng Hee, the
33-year-old former world No7 from Penang, now faces a second Malaysian
Elvinn Keo, a 25-year-old from KL who beat India's Ravi Dixit 11-2,
11-8, 12-10.
There were impressive
performances from two teenaged qualifiers. Local 19-year-old Addeen
Idrakie showed great courage in stretching experienced Pakistani Aamir
Atlas Khan to five games.
But the fourth seed
from Peshawar ultimately survived 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 4-11, 11-6 after 65
minutes to secure his anticipated place in the last eight.
Pakistani Tayyab
Aslam, however, produced the day's biggest upset. The 17-year-old from
Lahore ditched fellow countryman Khawaja Adil Maqbool - ranked 25
places higher - 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 in just 29 minutes.
Aslam, the world No
133 making his Tour debut in Malaysia, now faces third seed Ivan Yuen.
The world No67 from Malaysia defeated compatriot Mohd Syafiq Kamal, a
qualifier and also 17, 11-3, 11-5, 11-6.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 15 Royal Lake Club Open, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Quarter-final line-up: [1] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) v Elvinn Keo (MAS) [4] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) v Paul Coll (NZL) [3] Ivan Yuen (MAS) v [Q] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) [2] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) v Aqeel Rehman (AUT)
