Milou Is Malaysian Tour Champion In Malacca
by Howard Harding

April 24, 2015 - Dutch star Milou van der Heijden justified her top-billing in the Women's Malaysian Squash Tour Leg 2 when she beat local hope Vanessa Raj in today's final of the WSA Challenger 5 event at Stadium Skuasy Hang Jebat Melaka in Paya Rumput in the Malaysian state of Malacca.

The Dutch champion from Eindhoven reached the 10th WSA World Tour final of her career after defeating fourth-seeded Malaysian Rachel Arnold in the semi-finals.

Raj, the No.3 seed, also overcame a local player in the last four round, despatching sixth seed Teh Min Jie 11-2, 11-4, 11-5 in just 29 minutes.

Van der Heijden, the 24-year-old World No.41, had to pull out all the stops to keep 19-year-old Raj at bay. At 2/1 up, the Dutch favourite ultimately prevailed in a lengthy fourth game to win 12-10, 11-5, 6-11, 14-12 after 50 minutes and secure the third WSA Tour title of her career.

"I'm happy to win my third WSA title here in Malacca and played well to beat Vanessa in the final," said the jubilant champion. "I hope to win more WSA titles in the future!"

RESULTS: Women's Malaysian Squash Tour Leg 2, Paya Rumput, Malacca, Malaysia

1st round:
[1] Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt Madeleine Gill (USA) 11-3, 11-7, 11-3 (22m)
[8] Zoe Foo (MAS) bt Chan YiWen (MAS) 11-4, 11-5, 12-10 (26m)
[4] Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt [Q] Aifa Azman (MAS) 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (28m)
[7] Sivasangari Subramanian (MAS) bt [Q] Nazihah Hanis (MAS) 11-4, 11-8, 4-11, 11-3 (29m)
[5] Zulhijjah Binti Azan (MAS) bt Aika Azman (MAS) 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 (26m)
[3] Vanessa Raj (MAS) bt Andrea Lee (MAS) 11-9, 11-3, 11-9 (32m)
[6] Teh Min Jie (MAS) bt [Q] Ooi Kah Yan (MAS) 13-11, 12-10, 11-9 (30m)
[2] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt [Q] Noor Shadira (MAS) 11-6, 11-7, 11-2 (26m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt [8] Zoe Foo (MAS) 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 (29m)
[4] Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt [7] Sivasangari Subramanian (MAS) 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 (30m)
[3] Vanessa Raj (MAS) bt [5] Zulhijjah Binti Azan (MAS) 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7 (56m)
[6] Teh Min Jie (MAS) bt [2] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 11-8, 4-11, 13-11, 2-11, 11-7 (58m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt [4] Rachel Arnold (MAS) 11-5, 12-10, 11-8 (32m)
[3] Vanessa Raj (MAS) bt [6] Teh Min Jie (MAS) 11-2, 11-4, 11-5 (29m)
Final:
[1] Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt [3] Vanessa Raj (MAS) 12-10, 11-5, 6-11, 14-12 (50m)