Birthday Boy
Mosaad Celebrates Hong Kong Triumph
Egypt's
Omar Mosaad celebrated his 24th birthday in style today by winning the
HKFC Meco Invitational, the inaugural PSA World Tour International 25
squash event at the Hong Kong Football Club in Happy Valley, Hong
Kong.
The top seed
from Cairo rallied back after losing the first game to defeat second seed
Olli Tuominen of Finland 3-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 before an appreciative crowd
at Hong Kong Football Club.
"I was tense
at the start but, as the match went on, I became more comfortable," revealed
world No13 Mosaad after his 55-minute title triumph. "Olli played well, but I
think he lost his concentration a little bit in the second and third games.
"I'm very
happy today because I've won and it's my birthday. I've had a great week here in
Hong Kong and I'm looking forward to returning to play here again," added
Mosaad, who now boasts seven PSA World Tour titles.
After
receiving his winner's trophy from Heather Deayton, vice-president of the
World Squash Federation, Mosaad was presented with a cake and serenaded
with "Happy Birthday" by fans.
Tuominen, the
world No24, got off to a flying start and wrapped up the first game in just
seven minutes. But the imposing Mosaad regained the initiative in a gruelling
second game, dominating the 'T' as Tuominen frequently complained to the referee
that he was being blocked from reaching the ball.
"The rallies
that I was allowed to play, I enjoyed," said a frustrated Tuominen afterwards.
"I just felt there was not much squash being played."
Mosaad - who
defeated Hong Kong hero Leo Au, a qualifier, in the semi-finals - also
collected a cheque for HK$33,345 to go with his champion's trophy.
HKFC chairman
Fook Aun Chew said the first staging of the HKFC Meco Invitational Squash
Tournament had been a huge success.
"We have been
thrilled to host some world class squash players this week and it has been a
pleasure to see so many spectators attending the matches and showing such
enthusiasm for this event," he said. "I would like to thank our title sponsor,
Meco Group, for their generous support, not only of this tournament but previous
squash events at the Club."
Top Seeds Make
Hong Kong FC Final
Top seeds
Omar Mosaad and Olli Tuominen will contest the final of the HKFC
Meco Invitational after prevailing in today's semi-finals of the inaugural
PSA World Tour International 25 squash event at Hong Kong Football
Club in Happy Valley, Hong Kong.
It was the end
of the road for local hero Leo Au, the Hong Kong qualifier who despatched
third seed Ong Beng Hee en-route to a surprise appearance in the last
four.
Indeed, the
22-year-old world No75 took the opening game against top seed Mosaad as the
partisan crowd began to contemplate the prospect of local interest in the final.
But Mosaad,
the world No13 from Egypt, turned up the pressure early in the second game -
dropping just eight further points as he marched into the final following his
8-11, 11-1, 11-3, 11-4 victory in 38 minutes.
It took
Tuominen longer to claim his anticipated place in the event's climax. The second
seed from Finland faced unseeded Muhd Asyraf Azan - and claimed his
second straight games win in the championship after beating the Malaysian 11-5,
13-11, 11-7 in 46 minutes.
Mosaad is
celebrating the 16th PSA World Tour final of his career - but his first of the
year - while Tuominen, the world No24, is marking his 18th, and looking for his
second Tour win of 2012.
Au Now In Hong
Kong Semis
Local hero
Leo Au continued his giant-killing run in the inaugural HKFC Meco
Invitational today when he removed higher-ranked Egyptian Amr Khaled
Khalifa to reach the semi-finals of the of the PSA World Tour
International 25 squash event at Hong Kong Football Club in Happy
Valley, Hong Kong.
The
22-year-old Hong Kong qualifier made his breakthrough in the first round when he
ousted third seed Ong Beng Hee.
But Au had no
intentions of resting there. Spurred on by the partisan crowd, the world No75
reached 25 places higher to crown Khalifa 12-10, 11-7, 11-8 in 50 minutes.
The Hong Kong
number two now has his toughest task - top seed Omar Mosaad. The world
No13 from Egypt was taken to four games before getting on top of unseeded
Frenchman Gregoire Marche 11-9, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 in 58 minutes.
An upset in
the lower half of the draw means that Au now carries local interest into the
semi-finals single-handedly after the shock exit of fourth seed Max Lee,
the Hong Kong number one.
Lee, the world
No36, took the opening game against Muhd Asyraf Azan for the loss of just
two points. But the world No62 from Malaysia began to take charge of the game
thereafter and, after 76 minutes, celebrated a 2-11, 11-9, 15-13, 5-11, 11-9
win.
Azan moves on
to face Finland's Olli Tuominen, though the No2 seed had to battle for 67
minutes to overcome India's Siddharth Suchde 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, 11-8.
Leo Stuns Beng
Hee In Hong Kong
Hong Kong
qualifier Leo Au made full use of home advantage in today's first round
of the inaugural HKFC Meco Invitational when he upset third seed Ong
Beng Hee to claim a surprise place in the quarter-finals of the PSA World
Tour International 25 squash event at Hong Kong Football Club in
Happy Valley, Hong Kong.
The
22-year-old Hong Kong number two, ranked 75 in the world, battled for 70 minutes
to hold off the experienced Malaysian before finally clinching his shock 11-6,
7-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-9 victory over the 32-year-old former world No7.
Au now
progresses to face Amr Khaled Khalifa for a place in the semi-finals.
Egyptian Khalifa, ranked 25 places higher than the local hero, despatched Indian
qualifier Harinder Pal Sandhu 11-5, 11-8, 11-6.
There is
continuing Hong Kong interest in the lower half of the draw too where fourth
seed Max Lee saw off fellow countryman Dick Lau 11-4, 11-4, 11-2.
Lee will now
also face a Malaysian when he takes on Muhd Asyraf Azan. The unseeded
23-year-old from Kuala Lumpur survived an 83-minute marathon against Shaun le
Roux, finally beating the South African qualifier 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 7-11,
11-9.
The event's
top two seeds overcame their first round hurdles in contrasting styles:
Favourite Omar Mosaad needed 67 minutes to quash fellow Egyptian
Andrew Wagih Shoukry 11-4, 11-5, 11-13, 13-11, while flying Finn Olli
Tuominen, the No2 seed, brushed aside Australia's Matthew Karwalski
11-6, 13-11, 11-7 in just 35 minutes.
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