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Dynam Cup PSA SQ-Cube Open 2023 |
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Dynam Cup PSA SQ-Cube Open 2023
Men's Draw
02 - 06 May
Yokohama, Japan, $12k |
Final:
[2] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt [1] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 11-5, 11-3,
11-2 (28m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt [3] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) 11-7, 9-11, 5-11,
11-5, 11-6 (46m)
[2] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt [8] Mingyeong Heo (KOR) 11-6, 11-9, 10-12,
11-9 (37m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt [9/16] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) 11-9, 7-11,
11-7, 11-9 (46m)
[5] Wong Chi Him (HKG) bt [4] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 5-11, 10-12,
14-12, 11-6, 11-8 (68m)
[7] Matthew Lai (HKG) v [3] Tang Ming Hong (HKG)
[2] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) v [6] Darren Pragasam (MAS)
2nd round:
[1] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt [9/16] Andes Ling (HKG) 14-12, 7-11,
11-5, 11-2 (42m)
[9/16] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) bt [8] Harley Lam (HKG) 11-7, 12-10, 11-7
(38m)
[5] Wong Chi Him (HKG) bt [9/16] Chung Yat Long (HKG) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5
(33m)
[4] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt [9/16] Bryan Lim Tze Kang (MAS) 8-11,
11-8, 4-11, 11-8, 11-8 (73m)
[3] Tang Ming Hong (HKG) bt [9/16] Ong Sai Hung (MAS) 9-11, 11-7, 11-8,
6-11, 11-7 (63m)
[7] Matthew Lai (HKG) bt [9/16] Ho Ka Hei (HKG) 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9
(35m)
[6] Darren Pragasam (MAS) bt [9/16] Rahul Baitha (IND) 10-12, 11-3,
11-7, 15-13 (45m)
[2] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt Wailok To (HKG) 11-8, 11-2, 11-4 (29m)
1st round:
[1] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bye
[9/16] Andes Ling (HKG) bt Jan Wipperfürth (GER) 11-8, 11-2, 11-7
[9/16] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) bt Duncan Lee (MAS) 11-9, 11-1, 11-8 (28m)
[8] Harley Lam (HKG) bye
[5] Wong Chi Him (HKG) bye
[9/16] Chung Yat Long (HKG) bt [WC] Yujin Ikeda (JPN) 11-7, 11-5, 11-3
(25m)
[9/16] Bryan Lim Tze Kang (MAS) bt Naoki Hayashi (JPN) 11-6, 11-4, 2-11,
11-4 (36m)
[4] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bye
[3] Tang Ming Hong (HKG) bye
[9/16] Ong Sai Hung (MAS) bt Dylan Molinaro (AUS) 11-7, 16-14, 11-9
(38m)
[9/16] Ho Ka Hei (HKG) bt [WC] Shota Yasunari (JPN) 11-9, 11-8, 11-9
(32m)
[7] Matthew Lai (HKG) bye
[6] Darren Pragasam (MAS) bye
[9/16] Rahul Baitha (IND) bt [WC] Kanta Ito (JPN) 11-6, 11-5, 10-12,
11-5
Wailok To (HKG) bt [9/16] Lam Shing Fung (HKG) 11-8, 11-4, 11-2 (27m)
[2] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bye |
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Dynam Cup PSA SQ-Cube Open 2023
Women's Draw
Date
02 - 06 May
Yokohama, Japan, $6k |
Final:
[2] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt [1] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 11-9, 10-12,
5-11, 12-10, 11-3 (50m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt [3] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) 11-7, 9-11, 5-11,
11-5, 11-6 (46m)
[2] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt [8] Mingyeong Heo (KOR) 11-6, 11-9, 10-12,
11-9 (37m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt [9/16] Yura Choe (KOR) 11-4, 11-3, 9-11,
11-9 (33m)
[5] Toby Tse (HKG) bt [3] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (26m)
Sang Eun Park (KOR) v [8] Mingyeong Heo (KOR)
[2] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) v [7] Risa Sugimoto (JPN)
2nd round:
[1] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt [9/16] Dong Ju Song (KOR) 11-3, 11-5, 11-5
(23m)
[9/16] Yura Choe (KOR) bt [6] Wai Sze Wing (HKG) 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 (23m)
[5] Toby Tse (HKG) bt [WC] Kurumi Takahashi (JPN) 11-2, 11-4, 11-9 (18m)
[3] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) bt Ha Eun Kim (KOR) 11-5, 11-7, 11-2 (21m)
Sang Eun Park (KOR) bt [4] Leia Lee Zi Fang (SGP) 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 (23m)
[8] Mingyeong Heo (KOR) bt [WC] Ayumi Watanabe (JPN) 11-8, 11-2, 11-4
(19m)
[7] Risa Sugimoto (JPN) bt Gigi Yeung (MAC) 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 (20m)
[2] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt [9/16] Ayaka Matsuzawa (JPN) 11-5, 11-3,
14-12 (22m)
1st round:
[1] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bye
[9/16] Dong Ju Song (KOR) bt [WC] Chinatsu Matsui (JPN) 11-8, 11-9, 11-7
(30m)
[9/16] Yura Choe (KOR) bye
[6] Wai Sze Wing (HKG) bye
[5] Toby Tse (HKG) bye
[WC] Kurumi Takahashi (JPN) bt [9/16] Ain Jun (KOR) 11-5, 3-11, 11-3,
11-3 (29m)
Ha Eun Kim (KOR) bt [9/16] Ryoko Kadota (JPN) 11-8, 11-7, 11-3 (22m)
[3] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) bye
[4] Leia Lee Zi Fang (SGP) bye
Sang Eun Park (KOR) bt [9/16] Wing Hei Jannis Lam (HKG) 5-11, 11-6,
11-8, 5-11, 11-7 (49m)
[WC] Ayumi Watanabe (JPN) bt [9/16] Jihyun Lee (KOR) 11-9, 11-8, 12-10
(27m)
[8] Mingyeong Heo (KOR) bye
[7] Risa Sugimoto (JPN) bye
Gigi Yeung (MAC) bt [9/16] Liu Kwai Chi (MAC) 4-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8
(30m)
[9/16] Ayaka Matsuzawa (JPN) bye
[2] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bye |
Finals
Tsukue and Ching Take Titles
Ryunosuke Tsukue (centre left) and Cheng Nga Ching
(centre right) with the Dynam Cup trophies
Japan’s Ryunosuke Tsukue and Hong Kong’s Cheng Nga Ching have emerged
victorious from the Dynam Cup SQ-Cube Open in Yokohama this week.
Tsukue came into the men’s Challenger 10 level competition as the No.2
seed, and the two-time defending champion. The Japanese No.1 had been
the only previous winner of this tournament, winning both the 2021 and
2022 editions.
He would go on to win a third Dynam Cup crown, this time without losing
a single game. Tsukue started with wins over Hong Kong’s Wailok To and
Malaysia’s Darren Rahul Pragasam, before then downing No.3 seed Tang
Ming Hong in the semis, dropping just seven points in doing so.
The final saw Tsukue take on top seed Addeen Idrakie for the title. He
kept his incredible run in Yokohama going, downing the Malaysian in
straight games, to the loss of just ten points. Tsukue is now a
three-time Dynam Cup champion, and the win is his first this season.
The women’s event was won by Hong Kong’s Cheng Nga Ching, who also came
into the competition as the No.2 seed. She started her week with
victories over the Japanese pairing of Ayaka Matsuzawa and No.7 seed
Risa Sugimoto.
Ching then defeated Korea’s Mingyeong Heo in the semi-finals, before
coming up against top seed Low Wee Wern in the final. She fell behind to
the former World No.5 in the final, after losing the third game.
However, the Hongkonger fought through a fourth game tie-break, before
then going on to win the fifth and deciding game comfortably, taking her
first win of the season.
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Preview
Ryunosuke Tsukue, pictured here in Birmingham in April
2023
The Dynam Cup SQ-Cube Open is the first of five tournaments this week,
and defending champion Ryunosuke Tsukue is aiming to reach the world’s
top 50 in the near future.
The Japanese No.1 won this competition in both 2021 and 2022, and is
currently the only men’s winner. He will be aiming to go for a
three-peat this week, and it would be another boost towards his goal of
reaching the world’s top 50.
“I feel more confident now as I’ve been playing some good squash to win
against the higher ranked players,” he explained.
“I’m really looking to get into the top 50 by the start of 2024 and to
get more chance to play the World Tour events, not just the Challenger
Tours. So that meansI can get to play against even higher ranked
players. So right now, I’m pushing myself harder to get the ranking
higher.”
Four of Tsukue’s victories have come on home soil, with two of those at
this event. He believes that having the home crowd behind him is a big
boost, and takes away some of the extra pressure of being the Japanese
No.1.
“I think it is because this tournament is hosted in Japan and by my
sponsor, so I kind of have the pressure that I have to win,” Tsukue said
about the event.
“Then at the same time, I’m happy to play in front of all the people who
come and support me so those things give me the good balance to keep me
focussed and motivated throughout the whole tournament.
“It’s definitely made me more motivated to play in front of a home crowd
and I’m happy that I can show higher level squash to the people in
Japan.
“There’s no pressure on me because I’m the Japanese No.1 but there are
pressures on me to see whether I can compete against all the players
from other countries.”
Tsukue will be the No.2 seed for this week’s Challenger 10 level men’s
competition. He will be the highest-ranked player, though, sitting two
places above top seed Addeen Idrakie in the world rankings.
Idrakie will be joined by compatriots Mohammad Syafiq Kamal and Darren
Rahul Pragasam as seeded players for the draw. The other four members of
the top eight seeds all hail from Hong Kong. Wong Chi Him, Matthew Lai,
Harley Lam and Tang Ming Hong, last year’s runner-up, will all be in
action.
Tsukue will be one of six Japanese players in action on home soil. He
will be joined by Tomotaka Endo, 2021 runner-up Naoki Hayashi, Yujin
Ikeda, Kanta Ito and Shota Yasunari, the latter trio all being
tournament wildcards.
There will be a new name on the women’s trophy this year in Yokohama.
Two-time reigning champion Satomi Watanabe will not feature due to her
incredible rise over the last couple of years. The Japanese No.1 is now
in the world’s top 20, and will be the world’s leading Asian player
heading to Chicago for this season’s PSA World Championships.
Former World No.5 Low Wee Wern will be the top seed for the women’s draw
this year at the Dynam Cup. Like the men’s event, there will be a Hong
Kong quartet among the top eight seeds. Cheng Nga Ching, Ching Hei Fung,
Toby Tse and Wai Sze Wing will all be in action.
Singaporean Leai Lee Zi Fang, Korea’s Mingyeong Heo and the leading
Japanese player in the draw, Risa Sugimoto, make up the rest of the
seeds. She will be joined by five other home hopes. Ayaka Matsuzawa,
Ryoko Kadota, Ayumi Watanabe, Kurumi Takahashi and Chinatsu Matsui will
all feature.
The event takes place from Tuesday, May 2 to Saturday, May 6 at the
Yokohama Squash Stadium SQ-Cube in the Japanese city of Yokohama, where
Ryunosuke Tsukue will be looking for a hat-trick of titles. Follow the
PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the
event.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or follow
on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
events will also be streamed live on
SQUASHTV.
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