Hong Kong's Max Lee emerged victorious against Malaysian Ong Beng Hee in
an all-Asian finale to the 2014 Hong Kong Football Club International 25
in Hong Kong today.
Lee delighted the capacity crowd at the HKFC by securing his first ever
PSA World Tour $25k tournament title in a thrilling 3-2, 11-3, 10-12,
8-11, 11-5, 11-6 win against the Malaysian number one.
Having already taken out the tournament's number two seed Adrian Grant
in the semi-finals, Lee, the World No.32, looked to assert his authority
on the contest, the duo's first ever on the PSA World Tour, early and
surged to a quick one game lead.
But experienced campaigner Ong Beng Hee fought back to take the emphasis
and looked to be in a commanding position when ahead 2-1, but the local
hope resurged again and held on to take an edgy fifth game 11-6 and seal
one of the biggest wins of his career to date.
Max Lee
Max
Lee Through To HKFC Final
#PSAWorldTour
Hong Kong's number one Max Lee, the World No.32, impressed on home soil
as he took out England's Adrian Grant during the semi-finals of the Hong
Kong Football Club International 25 today.
Lee took just 45-minutes to get the better of the World No.24, recording
an emphatic 3-0, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 victory, booking his berth in his 11th
career tour final and remaining on course to become the first home-grown
player to win the HKFC title.
Lee will face stiff opposition in tomorrow's final from experienced Ong
Being Hee after the 34-year-old, who made his debut on the PSA World
Tour in 1995, denied local fans the chance off seeing an all-local final
by beating Leo Au 3-1.
The Malaysian, who has 23 PSA World Tour title to his name, came from
behind early against Au to secure a hard-fought 10-12, 11-3, 11-9, 11-7
victory.
Au
Topples Walker In Hong Kong
#PSAWorldTour
World No.39 and local hopeful Leo Au delighted the home crowd at the
Hong Kong Football Club PSA International 25 today, taking out number
one seed and World No.21 Alister Walker in a five game thriller.
The 24-year old came through a tense 75-minute battle, holding his nerve
to seal an impressive 6-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3 win and set up a
semi-final encounter with Malaysian World No.34 Ong Beng Hee, after the
experienced 34-year-old dispatched Finland's Henrik Mustonen 3-0.
"I
took my chances, tried to get the ball back to him and not make
mistakes,"
said Au.
'I was
able to play slower, change the pace and just play my own game."
There was further delight for the local fans as Hong Kong's No.1 Max Lee
also came through his quarter-final match against Egypt's Mazen Hesham,
taking a hard-fought 3-0 victory, and he will take on England's Adrian
Grant in the semi-finals.
Seeds Survive Opening Day At HKFC International
#PSAWorldTour
All eight seeds survived during the opening round of the 2014 Hong Kong
Football Club PSA International 25 tournament in Hong Kong earlier
today.
Number one seed Alister Walker, the Botswanan Sportsman Of The Year,
began his title tilt in composed fashion taking out in-form South
African Wild Card Shaun Le Roux, who has won three of his last four
tournaments, 11-9, 2-11, 11-8, 11-9.
England's Adrian Grant, the number two seed, was commanding as he saw
off Malaysian Ivan Yuen in just 40-minutes while local duo Max Lee and
Leo Au also impressed, coming through against Nasir Iqbal and Rex
Hendrick, respectively to ensure home hopes remain strong going into the
second round.
Elsewhere there were wins for Ong Beng Hee, Mohd Nafizwan Adnan, Mazen
Hesham and Henrik Mustonen.
