Hong Kong China
claimed both the men's and women's titles in the Asian Squash Team
Championships for the first time in the event's 37-year history in
the 2018 championships in Cheongju in the Republic of Korea.
The 19th staging of the
biennial event attracted 15 men's teams and 11 women's teams from China,
Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Korea,
Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and
Thailand.
Hosts Korea made
history in the women's championship by reaching the final for the first
time after upsetting second seeds Japan in the semi-finals.
However, Hong Kong were
too strong for the fifth seeds, winning 2/0. Hong Kong number one
Annie Au beat Korean Ahn Eun Tschan 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 before
Joey Chan came back from a game down to beat Lee Ji Hyun 8-11,
11-0, 11-2, 11-7.
The victory marked Hong
Kong's fifth women's title in their seventh final appearance in the last
eight events. The bronze medals went to Japan and Malaysia.
The men's final was a
repeat of the last Asian Team Championships two years ago in Chinese
Taipei, but this time favourites Hong Kong gained revenge over
title-holders Pakistan to beat the second seeds 2/0.
Max Lee
put Hong Kong ahead in the opening match after defeating Farhan Zaman
11-9, 11-9, 11-7. Though Leo Au dropped the second game to
Tayyab Aslam, the Hong Kong No.2 fought back to claim victory 11-6,
8-11, 11-0, 11-7 and clinch the historic first ever men's gold medal for
the team.
"This is a massive
achievement and it proved that our bronze medal at the World
Championships last year was no fluke," Lee
(picture above, right, in Asian final action) later told the South China
Morning Post.
Iran
also made history by winning its first-ever bronze medal in the Asian
Team Championships after the fifth seeds beat Japan in the
quarter-finals. Malaysia also finished co-third.
"Korea Squash
Federation is very happy to see so many teams showing their support and
coming to Cheongju to participate in the Championships. We are also
thrilled to see our women's team win the first-ever silver medal in the
hometown. It is very encouraging!" said Ms
Heo Tae-sook, President of Korea Squash Federation.
David Mui,
the ASF President was grateful to Korea Squash Federation for hosting
the Asian Championships: "The Cheongju International Squash Stadium
that was used for the championships is superb. There are 7 single courts
with glass back wall and 1 all-glass court, which make it a perfect
venue for both training and competition. The event was also well
organised.
"I would like to
express my sincere appreciation to Korea Squash Federation, who made the
Championships all the success. My thanks would also be extended to all
the officials, referees and helpers."
At the 38th ASF AGM, which
was held during the championships, the Mongolian Squash Federation
became an ASF member.
Pictured above celebrating
the occasion are (L to R): Kim Won Kwan, ASF VP; Altankhuyag
Otgon, Secretary General of Mongolian Squash Federation; David
Mui, ASF President
Final:
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [2] PAKISTAN 2/0
Max Lee bt Farhan Zaman 11-9, 11-9, 11-7
Leo Au bt Tayyab Aslam 11-6, 8-11, 11-0, 11-7
Yip Tsz Fung v Asim Khan (match withdrawn)
3rd place:
[4] MALAYSIA & [5] IRAN
5th place play-off:
[7] REPUBLIC OF KOREA bt [8] SINGAPORE 2/0
Ko Youngjo bt Samuel Kang 15-13, 11-8, 12-10
Seung-Taek Lee bt Benedict Chan 9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-4
Sehyun Lee v Timothy Leong (match withdrawn)
7th place play-off:
[3] QATAR bt [6] JAPAN 2/0
Abdulla Al-Tamimi bt Ryunosuke Tsukue 5-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-4
Syed Azlan Amjad bt Taiki Kaido 11-7, 11-7, 11-8
Hamad Al-Amri v Naoki Hayashi (match withdrawn)
9th place play-off:
[10] PHILIPPINES bt [9] IRAQ 2/1
Robert Garcia bt Rasool Alsultani 3-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-4
David Pelino lost to Hasanain Dakheel 3-11, 2-11, 7-11
Reymark Begornia bt Abdullah Al-Sultani 7-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4
11th place play-off:
[11] JORDAN bt [15] CHINA 2/0
Ahmad Al-Saraj bt Junjie Wang 13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8
Abedalkader Jeitan bt Jiaqi Shen 11-0, 7-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5
Hamza Alzubaidi v Zhou Penglin (match withdrawn)
13th place play-off:
[13] SRI LANKA bt [14] THAILAND 2/1
Gihan Suwaris lost to Sun Phat 11-13, 4-11, 4-11
Ravindu Laksiri bt Natthakit Jivasuwan 11-3, 11-4, 11-3
Shamil Wakeel bt Pasawee Suntivisut 11-4, 11-2, 11-3
15th place play-off:
[12] CHINESE TAIPEI bye
***** Semi-finals:
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [5] IRAN 2/0
Max Lee bt Sajad Zareian 11-4, 11-9, 11-8
Leo Au bt Alireza Shameli 11-2, 11-6, 11-4
Yip Tsz Fung v Navid Maleksabet
[2] PAKISTAN bt [4] MALAYSIA 2/0
Farhan Zaman bt Addeen Idrakie 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11
Tayyab Aslam bt Darren Rahul Pragasam 11-8, 11-5, 11-8
Asim Khan v Ong Sai Hung
5th - 8th place play-offs:
[7] REPUBLIC OF KOREA bt [6] JAPAN 2/1
JaeJin Yoo lost to Ryunosuke Tsukue 7-11, 13-11, 6-11, 12-10, 2-11
Ko Youngjo bt Masaki Suzuki 11-8, 11-5, 11-9
Sehyun Lee bt Naoki Hayashi 8-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-7
[8] SINGAPORE bt [3] QATAR 2/1
Vivian Rhamanan lost to Abdulla Al-Tamimi 2-11, 5-11, 5-11
Samuel Kang bt Syed Azlan Amjad 11-7, 11-8, 11-4
Benedict Chan bt Abdulrahman Al-Malki 11-1, 11-4, 11-3
9th - 12th place play-offs:
[9] IRAQ bt [15] CHINA 2/0
Rasool Alsultani bt Junjie Wang 11-5, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6
Hasanain Dakheel bt Jiaqi Shen 11-2, 11-5, 11-9
Abdullah Al-Sultani v Zhou Penglin
[10] PHILIPPINES bt [11] JORDAN 2/0
Robert Garcia bt Ahmad Al-Saraj 11-6, 9-11, 11-2, 11-3
David Pelino bt Abedalkader Jeitan 11-7, 11-5, 11-4
Reymark Begornia v Hamza Alzubaidi
13th - 16th place play-offs:
[13] SRI LANKA bt [12] CHINESE TAIPEI 2/1
Gihan Suwaris lost to James Huang 7-11, 4-11, 2-11
Ravindu Laksiri bt Kai Shu Chen 11-2, 11-1, 11-3
Shamil Wakeel bt Fu Chun Ching 11-5, 11-5, 11-6
[14] THAILAND bye
***** Quarter-finals:
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [7] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 2/0
Max Lee bt JaeJin Yoo 11-4, 11-6, 11-3
Yip Tsz Fung bt Seung-Taek Lee 11-6, 10-12, 11-3, 11-5
Leo Au v Ko Youngjo
[4] MALAYSIA bt [3] QATAR 2/1
Addeen Idrakie lost to Abdulla Al-Tamimi 7-11, 8-11, 5-11
Ong Sai Hung bt Abdulrahman Al-Malki 11-2, 11-3, 11-9
Darren Rahul Pragasam bt Syed Azlan Amjad 11-6, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7
[2] PAKISTAN bt [8] SINGAPORE 2/0
Farhan Zaman bt Vivian Rhamanan 11-3, 11-2, 11-6
Amaad Fareed bt Timothy Leong 11-8, 11-5, 11-3
Tayyab Aslam v Samuel Kang
9th - 16th place play-offs:
[9] IRAQ bt [13] SRI LANKA 2/0
Rasool Alsultani bt Gihan Suwaris 11-8, 11-8, 11-3
Abdullah Al-Sultani bt Shamil Wakeel 10-12, 13-11, 11-2, 11-6
Hasanain Dakheel v Ravindu Laksiri
[15] CHINA bt [12] CHINESE TAIPEI 2/1
Junjie Wang lost to James Huang 4-11, 5-11, 5-11
Zhou Zhitao bt Fu Chun Ching 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 11-3
Jiaqi Shen bt Kai Shu Chen 16-14, 2-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-4
[11] JORDAN bt [14] THAILAND 2/1
Abedalkader Jeitan bt Sun Phat 11-6, 11-7, 12-10
Abdel Rahman Saraj lost to Natthakit Jivasuwan 11-13, 4-11, 11-4, 4-11
Hamza Alzubaidi bt Phuwis Poonsiri 11-7, 10-12, 8-11, 11-2, 12-10
[10] PHILIPPINES bye
***** Qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [9] IRAQ 3/0
Max Lee bt Rasool Alsultani 11-3, 11-2, 11-4
Leo Au bt Hasanain Dakheel 11-4, 11-8, 11-5
Yip Tsz Fung bt Abdullah Al-Sultani 11-1, 11-2, 11-1
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [8] SINGAPORE 3/0
Leo Au bt Samuel Kang 11-8, 12-10, 11-3
Yip Tsz Fung bt Benedict Chan 11-8, 11-6, 11-3
Lau Tsz Kwan bt Timothy Leong 11-6, 11-3, 11-3
[8] SINGAPORE bt [9] IRAQ 2/1
Vivian Rhamanan lost to Rasool Alsultani 9-11, 5-11, 7-11
Samuel Kang bt Hasanain Dakheel 13-11, 11-4, 11-7
Benedict Chan bt Faisal Assim 11-7, 11-5, 11-6
Final positions: 1 Hong Kong China, 2 Singapore, 3 Iraq
Pool B:
[2] PAKISTAN bt [10] PHILIPPINES 3/0
Farhan Zaman bt Robert Garcia 12-10, 11-6, 11-7
Tayyab Aslam bt David Pelino 11-6, 11-5, 11-4
Amaad Fareed bt Reymark Begornia 11-4, 11-5, 11-5
[7] REPUBLIC OF KOREA bt [13] SRI LANKA 3/0
Ko Youngjo bt Gihan Suwaris 11-7, 11-9, 11-0
Seung-Taek Lee bt Ravindu Laksiri 11-7, 11-8, 11-7
Sehyun Lee bt Shamil Wakeel 8-11, 12-10, 11-2, 11-5
[2] PAKISTAN bt [7] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 3/0
Farhan Zaman bt JaeJin Yoo 16-18, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8
Tayyab Aslam bt Ko Youngjo 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 12-10
Asim Khan bt Sehyun Lee 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9
[10] PHILIPPINES bt [13] SRI LANKA 2/1
Robert Garcia bt Gihan Suwaris 11-7, 11-1, 11-7
David Pelino lost to Ravindu Laksiri 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 8-11
Reymark Begornia bt Shamil Wakeel 11-7, 8-11, 11-3, 12-10
[7] REPUBLIC OF KOREA bt [10] PHILIPPINES 2/1
Ko Youngjo lost to Robert Garcia 5-11, 6-11, 10-12
Seung-Taek Lee bt David Pelino 12-10, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4
Sehyun Lee bt Reymark Begornia 12-10, 11-5, 11-8
Final positions: 1 Pakistan, 2 Republic of Korea, 3 Philippines, 4 Sri
Lanka
Pool C:
[3] QATAR bt [11] JORDAN 2/1
Abdulla Al-Tamimi bt Ahmad Al-Saraj 11-8, 11-3, 11-6
Syed Azlan Amjad bt Abedalkader Jeitan 11-6, 11-5, 11-5
Abdulrahman Al-Malki lost to Hamza Alzubaidi 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 12-10,
6-11
[11] JORDAN bt [15] CHINA 2/1
Ahmad Al-Saraj lost to Junjie Wang 10-12, 11-7, 7-11, 10-12
Abedalkader Jeitan bt Jiaqi Shen 12-10, 11-7, 13-15, 11-5
Hamza Alzubaidi bt Zhou Zhitao 11-1, 11-1, 11-8
Final positions: 1 Japan, 2 Qatar, 3 Jordan, 4 China
Pool D:
[4] MALAYSIA bt [12] CHINESE TAIPEI 3/0
Addeen Idrakie bt James Huang 11-13, 12-10, 11-3, 1-11, 11-9
Darren Rahul Pragasam bt Kai Shu Chen 11-3, 11-4, 11-9
Ong Sai Hung bt Fu Chun Ching 11-6, 11-4, 11-2
[4] MALAYSIA bt [5] IRAN 2/1
Addeen Idrakie lost to Sajad Zareian 10-12, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7, 5-11
Darren Rahul Pragasam bt Alireza Shameli 11-9, 11-9, 11-9
Ong Sai Hung bt Navid Maleksabet 11-8, 9-11, 6-11, 11-3, 13-11
[12] CHINESE TAIPEI bt [14] THAILAND 2/1
James Huang bt Sun Phat 11-3, 11-2, 1-1 ret.
Kai Shu Chen lost to Phuwis Poonsiri 1-11, 0-11, 2-11
Fu Chun Ching bt Pasawee Suntivisut 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
[4] MALAYSIA bt [14] THAILAND 3/0
Darren Rahul Pragasam bt Sun Phat 11-6, 11-8, 11-5
Ong Sai Hung bt Phuwis Poonsiri 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8
Siow Yee Xian bt Natthakit Jivasuwan 11-7, 12-10, 11-4
[5] IRAN bt [12] CHINESE TAIPEI 2/1
Sajad Zareian lost to James Huang 7-11, 5-11, 7-11
Alireza Shameli bt Kai Shu Chen 11-6, 11-9, 11-4
Navid Maleksabet bt Fu Chun Ching 11-3, 11-9, 11-8
Final positions: 1 Malaysia, 2 Iran, 3 Chinese Taipei, 4 Thailand
Final:
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [5] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 2/0
Annie Au bt Eun Chan Ahn 11-4, 11-5, 11-5
Joey Chan bt Ji-Hyun Lee 8-11, 11-0, 11-2, 11-7
Tong Tsz-Wing v Hwayeong Eum (match withdrawn)
3rd place: [2] JAPAN & [3] MALAYSIA
5th place play-off:
[7] CHINA bt [10] IRAN 2/0
Li Dongjin bt Ghazal Sharafpour 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 11-3
Gu Jinyue bt Fereshteh Eghtedari 11-7, 13-11, 11-6
He Xinru v Hadis Farzad (match withdrawn)
7th place play-off:
[8] SRI LANKA bt [4] PAKISTAN 2/1
Mihiliya Methsarani bt Madina Zafar 10-12, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9
Kasuni Gunawardane lost to Faiza Zafar 8-11, 6-11, 3-11
Fathoum Issadeen bt Riffat Khan 9-11, 11-3, 11-1, 11-6
***** Semi-finals:
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [3] MALAYSIA 2/0
Annie Au bt Ooi Kah Yan 11-3, 11-3, 11-3
Joey Chan bt Wen Li Lai 11-5, 11-4, 11-4
Ho Tze-Lok v Ma Si Yi
[5] REPUBLIC OF KOREA bt [2] JAPAN 2/1
Yura Choi lost to Satomi Watanabe 10-12, 2-11, 5-11
Eun Chan Ahn bt Misaki Kobayashi 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4
Ji-Hyun Lee bt Risa Sugimoto 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4
5th - 8th place play-offs:
[10] IRAN bt [8] SRI LANKA 2/1
Ghazal Sharafpour lost to Mihiliya Methsarani 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 5-11
Fereshteh Eghtedari bt Kasuni Gunawardane 11-4, 11-4, 11-2
Ailee Nayeri bt Fathoum Issadeen 11-5, 11-4, 11-5
[7] CHINA bt [4] PAKISTAN 2/0
Li Dongjin bt Madina Zafar 12-10, 11-3, 11-7
Gu Jinyue bt Faiza Zafar 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 8-11, 11-4
Duan Siyu v Riffat Khan
***** Qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [9] THAILAND 3/0
Annie Au bt Anantana Prasertratanakul 11-9, 11-3, 11-5
Ho Tze-Lok bt Tuddaw Thamronglarb 11-3, 11-2, 11-3
Tong Tsz-Wing bt Pranghatai Phongrattana 11-3, 11-3, 11-1
[8] SRI LANKA bt [4] PAKISTAN 2/1
Mihiliya Methsarani bt Madina Zafar 11-8, 11-7, 11-6
Kasuni Gunawardane lost to Faiza Zafar 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 4-11
Fathoum Issadeen bt Riffat Khan 11-4, 8-11, 13-11, 11-8
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [8] SRI LANKA 3/0
Joey Chan bt Mihiliya Methsarani 11-3, 11-4, 11-2
Ho Tze-Lok bt Kasuni Gunawardane 11-1, 11-6, 11-3
Tong Tsz-Wing bt Fathoum Issadeen 11-2, 11-1, 11-4
[5] REPUBLIC OF KOREA bt [9] THAILAND 3/0
Yura Choi bt Anantana Prasertratanakul 11-2, 11-8, 12-10
Eun Chan Ahn bt Tuddaw Thamronglarb 11-0, 11-1, 11-3
Ji-Hyun Lee bt Pranghatai Phongrattana 11-0, 11-0, 11-4
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt [5] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 3/0
Annie Au bt Yura Choi 11-6, 11-1, 11-2
Joey Chan bt Eun Chan Ahn 11-8, 11-2, 11-8
Tong Tsz-Wing bt Hwayeong Eum 11-6, 11-6, 11-6
[3] MALAYSIA bt [7] CHINA 3/0
Ooi Kah Yan bt Li Dongjin 11-7, 11-6, 14-12
Wen Li Lai bt Gu Jinyue 9-11, 13-11, 15-13, 11-3
Chan Yiwen bt Duan Siyu 11-7, 11-9, 11-3
[6] SINGAPORE bt [11] CHINESE TAIPEI 3/0
Sneha Sivakumar bt Lin Chiao-Chi 11-1, 11-7, 11-2
Sherilyn Yang Huixian bt Lee Yi Hsuan 11-9, 11-8, 11-6
Keertana Veerayah bt Lu Yung Chi 3-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6
[2] JAPAN bt [7] CHINA 3/0
Satomi Watanabe bt Li Dongjin 11-2, 11-4, 11-3
Misaki Kobayashi bt Gu Jinyue 11-3, 11-7, 5-11, 11-2
Chinatsu Matsui bt He Xinru 11-4, 11-3, 11-0
[3] MALAYSIA bt [11] CHINESE TAIPEI 3/0
Ooi Kah Yan bt Lin Chiao-Chi 11-4, 11-1, 11-0
Wen Li Lai bt Lee Yi Hsuan 11-5, 11-8, 11-4
Chan Yiwen bt Lu Yung Chi 11-2, 11-3, 11-3
[10] IRAN bt [6] SINGAPORE 2/1
Ghazal Sharafpour lost to Sneha Sivakumar 7-11, 6-11, 4-11
Fereshteh Eghtedari bt Au Yeong Wai Yhann 11-6, 11-6, 4-11, 11-8
Ailee Nayeri bt Sherilyn Yang Huixian 11-3, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8
[3] MALAYSIA bt [10] IRAN 3/0
Ooi Kah Yan bt Fereshteh Eghtedari 9-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-7
Wen Li Lai bt Hadis Farzad 11-7, 11-2, 11-6
Chan Yiwen bt Ailee Nayeri 11-4, 11-4, 11-6
[7] CHINA bt [11] CHINESE TAIPEI 3/0
Li Dongjin bt Lin Chiao-Chi 11-5, 11-4, 11-5
Gu Jinyue bt Lee Yi Hsuan 11-3, 11-4, 11-6
Duan Siyu bt Lu Yung Chi 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4
[2] JAPAN bt [11] CHINESE TAIPEI 3/0
Satomi Watanabe bt Lin Chiao-Chi 11-2, 11-2, 11-5
Risa Sugimoto bt Lee Yi Hsuan 11-2, 11-3, 11-5
Chinatsu Matsui bt Lu Yung Chi 11-2, 11-4, 11-0
[3] MALAYSIA bt [6] SINGAPORE 3/0
Ooi Kah Yan bt Sneha Sivakumar 12-10, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7
Wen Li Lai bt Au Yeong Wai Yhann 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8
Chan Yiwen bt Sherilyn Yang Huixian 11-4, 11-6, 11-3
[7] CHINA bt [10] IRAN 2/1
Li Dongjin bt Ghazal Sharafpour 11-8, 11-5, 11-7
Gu Jinyue bt Fereshteh Eghtedari 10-12, 13-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8
Duan Siyu lost to Ailee Nayeri 9-11, 4-11, 5-11
[2] JAPAN bt [3] MALAYSIA 2/1
Satomi Watanabe bt Ooi Kah Yan 11-8, 11-6, 11-3
Misaki Kobayashi bt Chan Yiwen 14-12, 11-3, 11-2
Risa Sugimoto lost to Ma Si Yi 11-7, 3-11, 7-11, 3-11
[7] CHINA bt [6] SINGAPORE 2/1
Li Dongjin bt Sneha Sivakumar 11-5, 11-4, 11-8
Gu Jinyue bt Au Yeong Wai Yhann 8-11, 13-11, 11-5, 11-5
Duan Siyu lost to Sherilyn Yang Huixian 6-11, 7-11, 7-11
[10] IRAN bt [11] CHINESE TAIPEI 3/0
Ghazal Sharafpour bt Lin Chiao-Chi 13-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-6
Fereshteh Eghtedari bt Lee Yi Hsuan 11-6, 11-5, 11-4
Ailee Nayeri bt Lu Yung Chi 11-1, 11-2, 11-4
Final positions: 1 Japan, 2 Malaysia, 3 China, 4 Iran, 5 Singapore, 6
Chinese Taipei
