Top Seeds In Maharashtra Massacre In Mumbai by Howard Harding 4 September 2013
- The two top seeds crashed out of the new Maharashtra State PSA Open
after failing to survive epic first round marathons against
lower-ranked Egyptians today in the PSA World Tour Challenger 15 squash
event at the Bombay Gymkhana in Mumbai, India.
Favourite Ong Beng
Hee, the 33-year-old former world No7 from Malaysia, twice led Zahed
Mohamed - but the 21-year-old Egyptian (pictured below, right, with
Beng Hee) held his nerve to close out the match 5-11, 13-11, 9-11,
11-9, 12-10 after 98 minutes.
Mohamed, ranked 90 in the world, saved four match balls from 6-10 down in the decider before clinching the day's biggest upset.
An all-Egyptian
encounter at the bottom of the draw saw experienced No2 seed Omar Abdel
Aziz establish a comfortable two-game lead over qualifier Fares Mohamed
Dessouki, an 18-year-old from Alexandria.
"At 2/0, it seemed
like Omar had weathered the initial storm and he would now coast,"
explained tournament spokesman Raj Arora. "But the solid Fares was not
done yet. Fares maintained a very slender lead and was 10-7 up when the
experienced Omar pulled back to 10-10. Fares pulled off a stunning shot
to seize game ball and soon was still alive having wrested the third."
Dessouki maintained
his form to draw level. "At 2-2 it was delicately poised," continued
Arora. "It was neck and neck all through as they battled like
gladiators all through the decider - 6-6, 7-7, 8-8. The juniors in the
crowd were relishing this contest as Fares earned a stroke to go 9-8
up. Another well-played rally took him to match ball and shortly
thereafter Omar played a ball onto himself to yield a stroke and the
match.
"It was a memorable
win for Fares in a match that was good to watch for its quality in the
first half and its attrition in the second," added Arora after the
10-12, 2-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8 win in 97 minutes.
Dessouki now goes on
to face Mahesh Mangaonkar, one of two Indians who will compete in the
quarter-finals. The 19-year-old from Mumbai - who has just moved out of
the junior ranks - had more in the tank compared to his younger rival
Kush Kumar who has just arrived after winning Gold at the Asian Youth
Games in China and the Indian Junior Open in Chennai.
"At one game all, the
match promised to get close - but the more experienced Mangaonkar
capitalised on his opponent's tired legs to claim an 11-6, 8-11, 11-2,
11-6 victory," said Arora.
Chennai-based Harinder
Pal Sandhu ousted Egyptian qualifier Shehab Essam Hosny 11-6, 14-12,
11-3 and will now take on fourth-seeded Egyptian Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry
for a place in the last four.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 15 Maharashtra State PSA Open, Mumbai, India
1st round: Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [1] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 5-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10 (98m) Ravi Dixit (IND) bt [Q] Deepak Mishra (IND) 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 (30m) Johan Bouquet (FRA) bt [Q] Hannan Tarmidi (MAS) 11-3, 11-5, 11-9 (24m) [3] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) bt Ahmed Atef (EGY) 12-10, 11-9, 11-5 (36m) [4] Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) bt Joe Chapman (IVB) 12-10, 11-5, 11-3 (32m) Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) bt [Q] Shehab Essam Hosny (EGY) 11-6, 14-12, 11-3 (38m) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [WC] Kush Kumar (IND) 11-6, 8-11, 11-2, 11-6 (43m) [Q] Fares Mohamed Dessouki (EGY) bt [2] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 10-12, 2-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8 (97m)
Quarter-final line-up: Zahed Mohamed (EGY) v Ravi Dixit (IND) [3] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) v Johan Bouquet (FRA) [4] Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) v Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) [Q] Fares Mohamed Dessouki (EGY) v Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND)
