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Nicol strolls to fourth title
By AFTAR SINGH
PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Nicol David turned on the style to bag her fourth consecutive Malaysian Open title but it was the all-Malaysian men’s final that provided all the drama at The Curve in Mutiara Damansara yesterday.
And in the end, second seed Ong Beng Hee had to play the game of his life to prevail 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8 over defending champion Mohd Azlan Iskandar in a gruelling 96-minute final.
Nicol, who had struggled with her game in the earlier rounds, was back to her supreme self, taking just 31 minutes to dispose of second seed Natalie Grinham of Holland 11-1, 11-4, 11-6 for the top prize of US$8,550.
Nicol thus equals the record of four straight wins Australian Michelle Martin achieved from 1991.
“The final today (yesterday) was my best game in the tournament. My shots were good and I was better focused,” said Nicol, whose next assignment is the Singapore Masters on Wednesday.
“Natalie did not play well and made a number of errors.”
It was Nicol’s fifth consecutive title of the year, having won the Apawamis Open, Kuala Lumpur Open, British Open and Seoul Open.
But for sheer drama and excitement, it was the Beng Hee-Azlan encounter that had it all.
Beng Hee drew first blood when he won the first set. But then he found himself in a trouble when he lost the next two sets.
To make matters worse, he was just one point away from defeat when he found himself trailing 7-10 in the fourth set.
But Beng Hee showed that he is made of sterner stuff when he played his guts out to tie the score at 10-10 and force deuce.
While Beng Hee was delighted, Azlan was clearly deflated and the former went on to win the set 12-10.
The decider again saw Beng Hee trailing 1-4 but, being the fighter that he is, he hit back to take a 6-4 lead and went on to clinch the set 11-8 and bag his third Malaysian Open crown.
It was also his second Professional Squash Association (PSA) title this year. He had defeated Azlan 3-0 in the Kuala Lumpur Open final in March.
For his efforts yesterday, Beng Hee received US$7,220 while Azlan took home US$4,940.
Beng Hee admitted that he was very lucky to have won yesterday and that he was running on empty towards the end after enduring tough matches in his earlier rounds.
“Azlan played well in the second and third sets and he put me under tremendous pressure in the fourth set when he led 10-7,” said Beng Hee.
“I just gave it my best and I was delighted to win the set, which proved to be the turning point in the game.
“Overall, I don’t think I had a good tournament as my shots were not working well. Nevertheless, I am overjoyed to win my second home title this year.
“I would like to thank my coach Jamshed (Gul) for helping me in training and also the home crowd for supporting me,” added Beng Hee, who left for Egypt last night for the Cairo Open.
Azlan, who bore the expenses to bring his coach Peter Genevar from London to train him here for three weeks, was too distraught to speak to reporters after the defeat.
By AFTAR SINGH
PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Nicol David turned on the style to bag her fourth consecutive Malaysian Open title but it was the all-Malaysian men’s final that provided all the drama at The Curve in Mutiara Damansara yesterday.
And in the end, second seed Ong Beng Hee had to play the game of his life to prevail 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8 over defending champion Mohd Azlan Iskandar in a gruelling 96-minute final.
Nicol, who had struggled with her game in the earlier rounds, was back to her supreme self, taking just 31 minutes to dispose of second seed Natalie Grinham of Holland 11-1, 11-4, 11-6 for the top prize of US$8,550.
Nicol thus equals the record of four straight wins Australian Michelle Martin achieved from 1991.
“The final today (yesterday) was my best game in the tournament. My shots were good and I was better focused,” said Nicol, whose next assignment is the Singapore Masters on Wednesday.
“Natalie did not play well and made a number of errors.”
It was Nicol’s fifth consecutive title of the year, having won the Apawamis Open, Kuala Lumpur Open, British Open and Seoul Open.
But for sheer drama and excitement, it was the Beng Hee-Azlan encounter that had it all.
Beng Hee drew first blood when he won the first set. But then he found himself in a trouble when he lost the next two sets.
To make matters worse, he was just one point away from defeat when he found himself trailing 7-10 in the fourth set.
But Beng Hee showed that he is made of sterner stuff when he played his guts out to tie the score at 10-10 and force deuce.
While Beng Hee was delighted, Azlan was clearly deflated and the former went on to win the set 12-10.
The decider again saw Beng Hee trailing 1-4 but, being the fighter that he is, he hit back to take a 6-4 lead and went on to clinch the set 11-8 and bag his third Malaysian Open crown.
It was also his second Professional Squash Association (PSA) title this year. He had defeated Azlan 3-0 in the Kuala Lumpur Open final in March.
For his efforts yesterday, Beng Hee received US$7,220 while Azlan took home US$4,940.
Beng Hee admitted that he was very lucky to have won yesterday and that he was running on empty towards the end after enduring tough matches in his earlier rounds.
“Azlan played well in the second and third sets and he put me under tremendous pressure in the fourth set when he led 10-7,” said Beng Hee.
“I just gave it my best and I was delighted to win the set, which proved to be the turning point in the game.
“Overall, I don’t think I had a good tournament as my shots were not working well. Nevertheless, I am overjoyed to win my second home title this year.
“I would like to thank my coach Jamshed (Gul) for helping me in training and also the home crowd for supporting me,” added Beng Hee, who left for Egypt last night for the Cairo Open.
Azlan, who bore the expenses to bring his coach Peter Genevar from London to train him here for three weeks, was too distraught to speak to reporters after the defeat.
