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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.

Sponsor

www.cimb.com.my

. Men's Draw
.
Women's Draw

. Reports
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

 
 
 
 
 
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
 
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)

   
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)
 

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.