David Denies Au Asian Double by Howard Harding May 6, 2015 -
Nicol David denied Hong Kong's Annie Au and Leo Au the first sibling
double in the Asian Squash Championships when the world number one from
Malaysia clinched her ninth women's title in the 18th staging of the
regional championships at the Sheikh Salem Al Sabah International
Squash Complex in Kuwait.
David, the 31-year-old from Penang who has topped the world rankings
for an all-time record 109 months, first became Asian champion in 1998
- and retained the biennial title over the next seven championships
before being unable to compete in the 2013 event.
Left-hander Annie Au, the world No.11 who came to Kuwait as the
defending champion, reached her third successive final after surviving
a 75-minute five-game marathon against David's compatriot Delia Arnold
- the No.3 seed who ousted second-seeded Indian Dipika Pallikal in the
previous round.
But David was too strong for the Hong Kong number one, beating third
seed Au 12-10, 11-7, 11-8 in 35 minutes - not only to win her ninth
title, but also to establish a 17-year winning streak in the
championships.
Leo Au, Annie's younger brother ranked 36 in the world (pictured above
with David, centre, and sister Annie), reached the men's final for the
first time after a close-fought four-game win over Pakistan's Farhan
Zaman.
Au's opponent was local hero Abdullah Al Muzayen, the Kuwait number one
who reached his second successive final against expectations after
beating the Pakistan number one Nasir Iqbal.
But Au denied the hosts a first-time Kuwaiti champion when he beat Al
Muzayen 11-7, 11-9, 13-11 in 47 minutes to become Hong Kong's first
men's Asian champion since 1992.
RESULTS: Asian Squash Championships, Kuwait
Men's quarter-finals:
[11] Farhan Zaman (PAK) bt [1] Max Lee (HKG) 12-10, 11-9, 15-13 (55m)
[4] Leo Au (HKG) bt [10] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 2-11, 11-5, 11-1, 15-13 (55m)
[3] Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) bt [5] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 (65m)
[7] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) bt [2] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 13-15, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 (75m)
Semi-finals:
[4] Leo Au (HKG) bt [11] Farhan Zaman (PAK) 5-11, 11-9, 15-13, 18-16 (67m)
[3] Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) bt [7] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6 (67m)
Final:
[4] Leo Au (HKG) bt [3] Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) 11-7, 11-9, 13-11 (47m)
