27/07/2004
Callum Claims Chrishchurch Crown
New Zealand's Callum O'Brien won his second PSA title in the South Island Championships ...
south island
South Island Squash Championship,
Christchurch, New Zealand
Final:
[2] Callum O'Brien (NZL) bt [7] Amr Ramzy Swelim (EGY) 17-14,
13-15, 15-13, 17-14
Callum Claims Christchurch Crown
New Zealand's Callum O'Brien captured his second PSA Tour title in
style on home soil when he defeated Egypt's Amr Ramzy Swelim in the
final of the South Island Squash Championship in Christchurch.
O'Brien, the second seed, held off a stiff challenge from the
seventh-seeded Egyptian to win 17-14 13-5 15-13 17-14.
The 21-year-old kiwi was understandably thrilled with his victory,
after very nearly pulling out on the eve of the tournament. "I
almost decided not to fly down to Christchurch, after rolling my ankle
at training on Thursday. Thankfully I decided to give it a go,
and the injury's come right as the tournament progressed."
O'Brien is confident his ankle has come through the weekend without any
damage, and is expecting to line up at the Auckland Open next weekend,
with more PSA ranking points on offer.
Amr Ramzy Swelim, 20, from Cairo, pulled off the biggest upset in the
tournament when he defeated defending champion Kashif Shuja, the New
Zealand-based No1 seed from Pakistan, in straight games in the
quarter-finals. He then bounced back from two games down in the
semi-finals to beat fourth-seeded Julian Illingworth, from the USA, in
five games.
Semi-finals:
[7] Amr Ramzy Swelim (EGY) bt [4] Julian Illingworth (USA) 13-15,
9-15, 15-8, 15-7, 17-15
[2] Callum O'Brien (NZL) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 15-8, 15-12, 15-5
Quarter-finals:
[7] Amr Ramzy Swelim (EGY) bt [1] Kashif Shuja (PAK) 15-13, 15-6,
15-13
[4] Julian Illingworth (USA) bt Niall Rooney (IRL) 15-10, 15-6,
13-15, 15-6
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [16] Ahmed Mohsen Hassaan (EGY) 12-15,
15-11, 15-8, 15-13
[2] Callum O'Brien (NZL) bt [5] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 15-12,
15-3, 15-5
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