Lee Ka Yi overcame tenacious qualifier Ho Tze-Lok in the final of the
Contrex Challenge Cup, W5 tournament to lift her first ever PSA World
Tour title at the Kowloon Cricket Club in Hong Kong.
The number four seed shocked the experienced United States player
Latasha Khan in the previous round while Ho Tze-Lok eliminated a trio of
seeds en-route to the final, including second seed Vanessa Chu in the
quarter-final.
The first game was a tight one with neither player giving the other
player an opportunity to attack. Ka Yi eventually saw out a tight win in
the opener and had a bit more breathing space in the second as she
opened up a two-game lead.
Tze-Lok, who had delighted spectators throughout the event with a
succession of upsets, battled back to claim the third game on the
tie-break before Ka Yi reclaimed control of the match to fight to a 3-1
victory to capture the title.
“I am extremely happy and excited to win my first title,” said Ka Yi.
“I was playing better and being more patient than I expected, although
it is always hard to play against a teammate since we know each other
very well.”
Ka
Yi Sees Off Favourite To Set Up Final Clash In Hong Kong
#PSAWorldTour
Hong Kong’s Lee Ka Yi will contest the Contrex Challenge Cup, PSA W5
final with Ho Tze-Lok after the duo overcame top seed Latasha Khan and
Amina Yousry in their respective semi-final match-ups.
Ka Yi took a commanding two-game lead against the experienced Khan,
putting her speed around court to good use. Khan battled back with a
vengeance and managed to square things up before Ka Yi went up another
gear to finally see off Khan in an 11-2, 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8 victory.
“I executed my game plan well in the first two games but, in the third
and fourth, I lost my focus, made a few mistakes and gave Latasha the
chance to fight back,” said Ka Yi.
“In the fifth game I tried harder to concentrate on my game plan and
play deep at the back to create more opportunities. I am happy I can
advance to the final and I expect it will be a tough game tomorrow with
Ho Tze-Lok but I will try my best to win my first title.”
Tze-Lok continued her incredible run by eliminating a third consecutive
seed on her way to the final. She took great confidence from her
previous successes against Jessica Turnbull and number three seed Tong
Tsz-Wing and stormed into an early lead.
Yousry, who shocked second seed Vanessa Chu in the previous round, had
no reply to Tze-Lok and fell victim to a 3-0 rout to ensure that Tze-Lok
and Ka Yi will both battle for their first PSA World Tour title in the
tournament’s showpiece finale.
Tze-Lok
Turns Over Tsz-wing In Women's Challenge Cup
#PSAWorldTour
Ho Tze-Lok continued her fine form so far in the Contrex Challenge Cup,
PSA W5 event as she stunned number three seed Tong Tsz-Wing in the
quarter-final.
The local player, who is yet to receive a World Ranking, went two games
up against the World No.77 before Tsz-Wing fought back in the third. At
that point it looked as if 22-year-old Tsz-Wing would go on to complete
a comeback but, after a dramatic fourth game, Tze-Lok edged it in the
tie-break to ensure that she would advance with a 11-8, 12-10, 4-11,
12-10 triumph.
Her superb progress sees her pitted against 15-year-old Amina Yousry in
the semi-final after the Egyptian pulled off a huge upset of her own
against Vanessa Chu. Yousry dropped the first two games to Chu, who was
aiming for her third PSA World Tour title in a row, but showed a great
deal of mental fortitude to claw her way back into the match and climb
to a 3-2 victory.
Elsewhere, Lee Ka Yi managed to overcome Carmen Lee in their
quarter-final match-up despite the former dropping the first game.
Latasha Khan also snuck into the semi-final after a tightly-contested
battle with Choi Uen Shan. The United States player strode into a
two-game avantage but Uen Shan fought back with vigour to level things
up.
A nervy fifth game followed with the experienced Khan just edging it to
set up a fixture with Ka Yi in the next round.
Challenge Cup Set To Excite In Hong
Kong
#PSAWorldTour
The main draws of the 2015 Contrex Challenge Cup, PSA M5 & W5 events
begin tomorrow as the courts at the Kowloon Cricket Club see some
sparkling fixtures take place.
Indian No.2 Mahesh Mangaonkar is the top seed for the Men's event and is
on the march for his fifth PSA World Tour title.
The 21-year-old last claimed a title at the JSW PSA Indian Circuit 2 in
October 2014 and will be hoping that his experience of winning a bigger
event will stand him in good stead for the challenges that lie ahead.
Mumbai-born Mangaonkar has not made it past the first round of the main
draw at an event since the Qatar PSA World Squash Championship eight
months ago but will fancy his chances to do that this time around as he
meets Chan Wui Ki in round one.
Tsz Fung Yip will be aiming to continue his superb performances thus far
in 2015 as he looks to capture yet another title. The Malaysian won
three consecutive PSA World Tour titles on the Malaysian Tour at the
start of the year and narrowly missed out on the Invercargill Licensing
Trust NZ Southern Open earlier this month, throwing away a two-game
advantage in the final to lose out against Raphael Kandra.
The 21-year-old old from Hong Kong will be up against compatriot Tsn Hei
Yuen as the duo do battle for a place in the quarter-final.
Chi Him Wong is seeded third and will be aiming to impress on home-soil.
The World No.181 is yet to win a PSA World Tour title but a series of
semi-final finishes earlier this year proved that he is a force to be
reckoned with if he is on form.
Jaejin Yoo lies in wait for Wong in the opening round with a
quarter-final spot up for grabs.
Latasha Khan will be one of the forerunners for the Women's event if she
can recapture some of the form she showed earlier on in the year.
She was unlucky to meet defeat in the quarter-final of the Malaysian
Tour Squash III in May and the United States player has a bye to the
next round where she will face either Choi Uen Shan or Liu Kwai Chi.
Vanessa Chu will pose strong opposition to Khan as she aims to lift her
third PSA World Tour title in a row.
The Hong Kong-born player eliminated Khan from the Malaysian Tour Squash
III on her way to the title and will face-off against Cheng Nga Ching in
round one as she looks to get off to a winning start.
