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The portable squash court will showcase the
event in Bataya Times Square from the quarter finals onwards.
Vanessa Vanquishes
David Dream In KL
Malaysian squash
star Nicol David's dream of winning her first title on home soil
since becoming world number one was dashed by rival Vanessa Atkinson
in today's (Saturday) women's final of the CIMB KL Open in Kuala
Lumpur.
The world No2 from
the Netherlands swept to a 9-7, 4-9, 9-1, 9-3 victory in 42 minutes in the
climax of the second WISPA Gold event of the year to strengthen her
bid to regain the world's top ranking which she surrendered to David in
January after heading the WISPA list for just a single month.
The triumph marks
the second time that Atkinson has overcome David this year, after winning
the Apawamis Open in New York in January – and the second time in
three years that the Dutch star has beaten the Malaysian in the KL Open
final. The title also brings the 29-year-old from The Hague's WISPA
World Tour trophy haul to 19 since winning her first in the USA in
November 2000.
The all-Malaysian
men's final produced a dramatic 92-minute marathon encounter between top
seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar and second seed Ong Beng Hee, the
three-times Asian champion whom Iskandar recently deposed as the Malaysian
number one.
Beng Hee, the
26-year-old former world No7 from Kuala Lumpur who is climbing back up the
rankings after a lean spell on the PSA Tour, took the first and
fourth games. But Iskandar, the 23-year-old world No14 from Sarawak, stuck
to his task and ultimately forged a 6-11, 11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 11-4
victory to earn the eighth PSA title of his career – three years after
winning his first, the KL Open in 2003.
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Men's Draw
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Women's Draw
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Reports |
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Local favourite Azlan Iskander the top
seed takes the final in
92 minute marathon |
World no1
Nicol David returns home to compete in the Malaysian Open, but she meets an
in form Vanessa Atkinson in the final and Nicol's dream has gone |
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CIMB
Malaysian Open
2006
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Round One
Feb 15 |
Quarters
Feb16 |
Semis
Feb 17 |
Final
Feb 18 |
[1] Azlan
Iskandar (Mas)
8/11, 11/1, 11/6, 11/7 (41m)
[Q] Lee Drew (Eng) |
Azlan Iskandar
11/10(3-1), 11/8, 11/5 (35m)
Hisham
Ashour |
Azlan Iskandar
11/10(2-0), 2/11, 11/8, 11/7 (57m)
Adrian Grant
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Azlan Iskandar
6-11, 11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 11-4 (92m)
Ong Beng Hee |
[7] Hisham
Ashour (Egy)
4/11, 11/10(2-0), 11/5, 11/3 (38m)
Jean-Michel Arcucci (Fra) |
[4] Adrian
Grant (Eng)
11/10(2-0), 11/10(2-0), 11/5 (40m)
[Q] Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak) |
Adrian Grant
10-11(0-2), 9/11, 11/8, 11/6, 11/8 (95m)
Shahier Razik |
[5]
Shahier Razik (Can)
11/9, 11/10(2-0), 7/11, 11/4 (65m)
Stacey Ross (Eng) |
Tim Arnold
(Mas)
11/4, 11/3, 11/9 (27m)
[6] Mansoor Zaman (Pak) |
Mansoor Zaman
11/10(2-0), 11/10(2-0), 5/1111/6 (37m)
Wael El Hindi |
Wael El Hindi
11/7, 11/6, 11/3 (37m)
Ong Beng Hee |
[Q] Ritwik
Bhattacharya (Ind)
11/5, 10/11(3-5), 11/5, 11/6 (42m)
[3] Wael El Hindi (Egy) |
[Q] Omar
Mosaad (Egy)
11/3, 11/7, 9/11, 11/5 (39m)
[8] Ramy Ashour (Egy) |
Ramy Ashour
8/11, 11/5, 11/10(2-0), 11/2 (54m)
Ong Beng Hee |
Mark
Heather (Eng)
11/7, 11/4, 11/5 (34m)
[2] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) |
Qualifying:
Finals, 14-Feb:
Aamir Atlas Khan
(Pak) bt Cameron White (Aus)1/11, 11/6, 11/6, 11/7 (33m)
Lee Drew (Eng) bt Khayal Muhammad Khan (Pak)10/11(1-3), 11/3, 11/9, 11/10(2-0) (80m)
Omar Mossad (Egy) bt Shamsul Islam Khan (Pak)8/11, 11/7, 11/4, 11/7 (52m)
Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt Basit Ashfaq (Pak)11/2, 11/2, (Rtd)
Round One, 13-Feb: Aamir Atlas Khan
(Pak) bt Ivan Yuen (Mas)11/2, 11/5, 11/3 (16m)
Cameron White (Aus) bt Nafzahizam Adnan (Mas)11/4, 11/4, 11/4 (28m)
Khayal Muhammad Khan (Pak) bt Kashif Shujah (Nzl)8/11, 6/11, 11/6,
11/9, 11/6 (81m)
Lee Drew (Eng) bt Shahril Shahidan (Mas)11/7, 11/2, 11/8 (24m)
Shamsul Islam Khan (Pak) bt Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)7/11, 11/5,
11/2, 11/5 (29m)
Omar Mossad (Egy) bt Arshad Iqbal Burki (Pak)10/11(0-2), 11/2, 11/7, 11/2 (42m)
Basit Ashfaq (Pak) bt Ian Power (Can)7/11, 11/8, 7/11, 11/10(2-0), 11/4 (62m)
Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt Mohd Asyraf Azan (Mas)11/4, 11/7,
11/7 (25m) |
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CIMB
Malaysian Open
2006
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
13/2/ 06 Amelia Pittock replaces injured Vicky Botwright |
Round One
Feb 15 |
Quarters
Feb16 |
Semis
Feb 17 |
Final
Feb 18 |
[1] Nicol
David (Mas)
9/6, 9/5, 4/9, 9/4 (39m)
[Q] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl) |
Nicol David
9/0, 9/0, 10/8 (23m)
Annelize Naude |
Nicol David
4/9, 3/9, 9/2, 9/2 10/9
(63m)
Natalie Grinham |
Nicol David
9-7, 4-9, 9-1, 9-3 (42m)
Vanessa Atkinson |
[LL]
Amelia Pittock (Aus)
w/o
Annelize Naude (Ned) |
[4]
Natalie Grinham (Aus)
9/6, 9/6, 9/3 (31m)
[Q] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) |
Natalie Grinham
2/9, 9/2, 1/9, 9/0, 9/0 (51m)
Jenny Duncalf |
[6] Linda
Elriani (Eng)
w/o
Jenny Duncalf (Eng) |
Madeline
Perry (Irl)
5/9, 10/8, 9/3, 7/9, 9/3 (61m)
[8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) |
Madeline Perry
9/1, 9/7, 9/1 (35m)
Rachael Grinham |
Madeline Perry
9/7, 9/0, 10/8 (35m)
Vanessa Atkinson |
[Q] Tegwen
Malik (Wal)
9/10, 5/9, 9/4, 9/1, 10/8 (81m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) |
[Q] Engy
Kheirallah (Egy)
9/5, 9/5, 9/6 (28m)
[7] Natalie Grainger (Usa) |
Natalie Grainger
10/8, 9/4, 9/0 (27m)
Vanessa Atkinson |
Sharon Wee
(Mas)
9/1, 9/2, 9/4 (22m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) |
Qualifying:
Finals, 14-Feb:
Shelley Kitchen
(Nzl) bt
Kasey Brown (Aus)9/4, 9/3, 9/5 (30m)
Tegwen Malik (Wal) bt
Triciah Chuah (Mas)9/3, 9/5, 9/0 (21m)
Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt
Amelia Pittock (Aus)9/3, 9/5, 9/0 (21m)
Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt
Melissa Martin (Aus)9/3,
9/5, 9/0 (21m)
Round One, 13-Feb:
Shelley Kitchen (Nzl) bt Sally Looi (Mas)9/0, 9/0, 9/0 (14m)
Kasey Brown (Aus) bt Siti Munirah Juson (Mas)9/2, 9/0, 9/0
(20m)
Tegwen Malik (Wal) bt Dianne Desira (Aus)9/5, 9/3, 8/10, 4/9, 9/4 (60m)
Triciah Chuah (Mas) bt Lim Woke Yah (Mas)9/1, 9/3, 9/7 (29m)
Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt Peta Hughes (Aus)9/1, 9/5, 9/3
(18m)
Amelia Pittock (Aus) by Donna Urqhart (Aus)9/2,
9/1, 9/2 (22m)
Melissa Martin (Aus) bt Delia Arnold (Mas)9/2, 9/7, 9/2 (26m)
Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt Rachel Smith (Aus)9/2, 9/1, 9/3 (22m)
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Reports
Favourites To Contest KL Finals
The two top seeds will contest
both the women's and men's finals of the CIMB KL Open – with
favourites Nicol David and Mohd Azlan Iskandar hoping to pull
off a domestic double in the major tour event in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
Defending women's champion Nicol
David reached the final for the sixth time since 1999, but had to fight back
from 0/2 down against Australia's fourth seed Natalie Grinham before
beating one of her Amsterdam training partners 4-9 3-9 9-2 9-2 10-9 in 63
minutes.
World champion David, looking for
her first WISPA World Tour title win on home soil since becoming
world number one, is celebrating her 22nd appearance in a WISPA final.
Her opponent will be second seed
Vanessa Atkinson, the world No2 from the Netherlands who ended the
brave run of Ireland's unseeded Madeline Perry. The Irish No1 scored
the best scalp of her career when she despatched Australia's third seed
Rachael Grinham, the former world No1 from Queensland, 9-1 9-7 9-1 in
the quarter-finals.
In today's (Friday) semi-finals,
however, Atkinson proved too strong and beat the new world number ten 9-7
9-0 10-8 to reach her 31st WISPA final – and the second KL final
since beating David in the 2004 climax.
Mohd Azlan Iskandar battled for 57
minutes to reserve his place in the men's final. The 2003 champion from
Sarawak faced fourth seed Adrian Grant – and beat the English
left-hander from London 11-10 2-11 11-8 11-7.
Second seed Ong Beng Hee is
making his first appearance in the KL Open final since finishing as
runner-up in 1999. The 26-year-old overcame Egypt's No3 seed Wael El
Hindi 11-7 11-6 11-3 in 37 minutes and is now in his 16th PSA
Tour final.
Perry Powers To KL Upset
Ireland's Madeline Perry upset the women's seedings in the CIMB KL
Open – but confirmed the latest WISPA World Tour rankings – when
she beat eighth seed Omneya Abdel Kawy in the first round of the
WISPA Gold event in
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
The unseeded
29-year-old from Craigavon in Northern Ireland - who rose to a career-high
No10 in the February world rankings, ahead of Kawy - fought back from a game
behind to overcome the Egyptian 5-9 10-8 9-3 7-9 9-3 in 61 minutes.
Perry now faces former world No1 Rachael Grinham after the third seed
from Australia had to overcome a two-game deficit before beating Welsh
qualifier Tegwen Malik 9-10 5-9 9-4 9-1 10-8 in an 81-minute
marathon.
Local favourite Nicol David needed four games to take her expected
place in the last eight. The 22-year-old world No1 from Penang beat New
Zealand qualifier Shelley Kitchen 9-6 9-5 4-9 9-4 in 39 minutes – and
will now face Annelize Naude after the unseeded Dutch player was
given a walkover through to the quarter-finals when her Australian opponent
Amelia Pittock, a lucky loser following the late withdrawal of
England's fifth seed Vicky Botwright, was forced to pull out of the
event as a result of a stomach upset.
There was another withdrawal on the opening day when sixth seed Linda
Elriani was struck down by a fever and unable to play her match against
unseeded English compatriot Jenny Duncalf.
In the men's event, three Egyptians survived the first round – including two
brothers Hisham Mohd Ashour and Ramy Ashour. Hisham, the
seventh seed, recovered from a game down to beat France's Jean-Michel
Arcucci 4-11 11-10 11-5 11-3 in 38 minutes, while younger brother Ramy,
the world junior champion, took one minute longer to overcome compatriot
Omar Mosaad, a qualifier, 11-3 11-7 9-11 11-5.
Both brothers will now face local opposition for places in the semi-finals.
Hisham Ashour will take on top seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar, the 2003
champion who beat English qualifier
Lee Drew
8-11 11-1 11-6 11-7, while
eighth seed Ramy will meet second seed Ong Beng Hee, the 11-7 11-4
11-5 victor over Englishman Mark Heather.
KL Open Attracts
World's Top Ten Women
The second WISPA
Gold event of the year has attracted the world's top ten women squash
players to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to compete in the CIMB
KL Open. Leading the field is the Malaysian squash queen Nicol David,
making her first appearance in her home country since winning the World
Open title in Hong Kong in December, then becoming world number one for
the first time last month.
David, the defending
champion and top seed, is expected to face rival Vanessa Atkinson in
the final on an all-glass court in Berjaya Times Square on Saturday.
Atkinson, the world No2 from the Netherlands, is returning to the stage
where she won her World Open title in 2004 – fresh from her victory over
David two weeks ago in the final of Apawamis Open, the first WISPA
Gold of the year in the USA.
Also featured in the
high-quality field are Australian sisters Rachael Grinham and
Natalie Grinham, seeded three and four, respectively.
David faces New
Zealand qualifier Shelley Kitchen in the opening round, and is
expected to come up against Natalie Grinham in the semi-finals. Atkinson
meets Malaysian wild card player Sharon Wee in the first round,
en-route to a predicted semi-final clash with Rachael Grinham.
Andrew Shelley,
Chief Executive of the Women's International Squash Players' Association
(WISPA) commented: "It is a little like a puzzle when finally the last
few pieces magically fit together. A world champion in Nicol David,
enviably extensive squash media coverage, a superbly active Squash Malaysia
and responsive sponsor in CIMB.
"Four clicks and the
picture of this championship is complete. This second major event in Kuala
Lumpur to link with the Malaysian Women's Open in July means WISPA really
cannot thank Squash Malaysia and their supporters enough for the annual
boost they give to our members."
Home success is also
predicted in the Men's KL Open where Mohd Azlan Iskandar is the top
seed. The world No14 from Sarawak is expected to face second seed Ong
Beng Hee in an all-Malaysian final
The
event, traditionally a strong one for the women, will also feature the
Grinham sisters and England’s top ranked players Vicky Botwright, Linda
Elriani and Jenny Duncalf.
In the men’s event Malaysia’s top two players, locked in a personal rivalry,
are on collision course to meet in the final for a title that will give them
massive kudos in their own country. Azlan Iskandar, who has supplanted Ong
Beng Hee as the top Malaysian in the world rankings, is top seed while Beng
Hee is the second seed.
Iskandar is seeded to meet England’s Adrian Grant while Beng Hee must get
past the Egyptian Wale el Hindi.
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