Coline Aumard and Misaki Kobayashi both eased through their first games – 11/2 and 11/1 respectively – before encountering stiffer resistance from Siti Munirah Jusoh and Choi Uen-Shah, but both came through in straight games.

“It’s my first time in Hong Kong, and I’ve qualified, I’m so happy,” said Aumard who certainly showed it meant a lot with her determination to finish the match off.

Kobayashi was similarly pleased: “It’s my third Gold event and the first one I’ve qualified for. I love Hong Kong too so it couldn’t happen in a better place!

Carmen Lee and Olga Ertlova

“After winning the first easily I tried to do too much in the second and made mistakes, I was pleased to win that 3/0 in the end,” admitted the Japanese number one. “I’m so excited, I really don’t mind who I play.”

Olga Ertlova also qualified for the first time, also in straight games after recovering from a big deficit in the first against Carmen Lee.

Someone definitely not qualifying for the first time was Tania Bailey, who beat young Indian prospect Anaka Alankamony in four games.

“I didn’t really feel comfortable on there,” admitted the 32-year-old Englishwoman, “so I’m just glad to get out of qualifying and I hope that’s woken me up a bit for the next round.

“I think the first time I made the main draw here was 12 years ago, and over that time I’ve lost in every round from the first right up to the final, so I feel quite comfortable here.

“I’d rather not play Nicol after the form she showed last week in Rotterdam, but other than that I don’t mind, I think I can give anyone else a good run on the day.”

Two popular wins followed as Hong Kong juniors Lee Ka Yi and Tong Tsz-Wing, coached by Rebecca Chiu and encouraged by new Macau Open champion Joey Chan, both won in four games against Lauren Selby and Siyoli Waters respectively.

Chiu was delighted: “We knew they all had chances, but they both took theirs well, and getting to the main draw will be good for their exposure and development, getting experience against the top players.

“We have a lot of juniors coming through, so hopefully we can get even more into the main draw next year!”

The final two spots were claimed by New Zealand’s Kylie Lindsay, who beat HK’s Karman Siu in straight games, and Germany’s Sina Wall.

“I got a bit overconfident when I was 2-0 up, I thought I could relax but I couldn’t, so I was glad to take that third,” said a delighted Wall, who beat England’s Carrie Ramsey 11/7, 11/6, 13/11.

“I played in HK in the world juniors in 2007, but this is my first Hong Kong Open, it’s great to qualify for such a big tournament.”

Women’s Qualifying Finals:
Coline Aumard (FRA) bt Siti Munirah Juson (MAS) 11/2, 11/8, 11/8 (35m)
Olga Ertlova (CZE) bt Carmen Lee (HKG) 12/10, 11/9, 11/8 (40m)
Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Anaka Alankamony (ING) 11/2, 11/9, 7/11, 11/2 (45m)
Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) bt Uen Shan Choi (HKG) 11/1, 11/9, 11/5 (21m)
Lee Ka Yi (HKG) bt Lauren Selby (ENG) 10/12, 11/7, 11/4, 11/4 (40m)
Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) bt Siyoli Waters (RSA) 11/9, 9/11, 11/4, 11/8 (42m)
Sina Wall (GER) bt Carrie Ramsey (ENG) 11/7, 11/6, 13/11 (38m)
Kylie Lindsay (NZL) bt Karman Siu (HKG) 11/3, 11/7, 11/6 (28m)

Round 1 Main Draw:
Tue 18.00 CC [1] Nicol David (MAS) vs [Q] Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG)
Tue 18.45 CC [11] Donna Urquhart (AUS) vs Line Hansen (DEN)
Tue 19.30 C9 [5] Laura Massaro (Eng) vs [Q] Olga Ertlova (CZE)
Tue 20.15 C9 [16] Delia Arnold (MAS) vs [Q] Coline Aumard (FRA)
Tue 17.15 C9 [3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) vs Latasha Khan (USA)
Tue 16.30 C9 [12] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) vs [Q] Tania Bailey (ENG)
Tue 14.45 CC [8] Annie Au (HKG) vs Gaby Huber (SUI)
Tue 15.00 CC [9] Joelle King (NZL) vs [Q] Misaki Kobayasji (JPN)

Wed 19.30 C9 Aisling Blake (IRL) vs [15] Joey Chan (HKG)
Wed 20.15 CC Melody Francis (AUS) vs [6] Kasey Brown (AUS)
Wed 18.00 CC [Q] Sina Wall (GER) vs [10] Raneem El Weleily (EGY)
Wed 18.45 CC Dipika Pallikal (ING) vs [4] Madeline Perry (IRL)
Wed 17.15 C9 Emma Beddoes (ENG) vs [14] Sarah Kippax (ENG)
Wed 16.30 C9 Liu Tsz Ling (HKG) vs [7] Camille Serme (FRA)
Wed 15.45 CC [Q] Kylie Lindsay (NZL) vs [13] Low Wee Wern (MAS)
Wed 15.00 CC [Q] Lee Ka Yi (HKG) vs [2] Jenny Duncalf (ENG)

Full reports, quotes, photos on TODAY in Hong Kong: www.squashsite.co.uk/hk/today.htm

Nicol, on top of the world.

Malaysia’s Nicol David begins her sixth year as world number one this month, according to the new January Women’s World Squash Rankings published today by the Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (WISPA).

The dominant force in women’s squash first topped the rankings in January 2006 – and, after dropping to second place for just four months in the year, is now celebrating her 57th month as world No1.

After her now regular early New Year training session in Melbourne with Australian legend Sarah Fitz-Gerald, 27-year-old David will return to World Tour action at the WISPA Gold Cleveland Classic in the USA on 30 January.

England’s Jenny Duncalf continues to shadow David in second place, ahead of fellow countrywoman Alison Waters at three, Egypt’s Omneya Abdel Kawy in fourth place, and Australia’s Rachael Grinham at No5.

Annie Au

But lower in the list, Annie Au celebrates a career-high No12 ranking – and becomes the highest-ranked player from Hong Kong of all-time, moving ahead of former Asian Games champion Rebecca Chiu, who reached a best-ever 13th place in October 2007.

Au, a 21-year-old student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, scored her biggest Tour title last month, winning the $20,000 Seoul Open in South Korea.

Malaysian Low Wee Wern, who was runner-up in Seoul, also marks a career-best ranking this month – rising two places to No13. The 20-year-old from Penang followed her 11th WISPA Tour final appearance in Korea by reaching the last eight of the Punj Lloyd WISPA Masters in Delhi.

And Egyptian teenager Nour El Tayeb continues her relentless surge up the rankings by moving to a best-ever 17th place. The 17-year-old from Cairo jumped from outside the top 30 into the top twenty last month to become the youngest player in the elite list.

January top 20 (inc. points average):

For the complete WISPA ranking list, see www.wispa.net

Some say that the Asian Games Athletes’ Village was a replica of the one at the Beijing Olympics and we had the luxury of experiencing this in Guangzhou. The Competition venue was within the surroundings of the Games Village and that made travelling a lot easier for us squash players. I have never seen these art-form buildings being built specially for an event and we got to enjoy the facilities as well.

The Malaysian contingent got started on other events before our squash team began. The individual event was represented by the top 2 players of each country and this year was the first time the Asian Games introduced the team event too.

Individuals

Round 1 with Park Eun Ok of Korea
Park Eun Ok has been to many Asian tournaments and we’ve met a number of times. This time she really brought her best game out on court. We exchanged some long rallies throughout the match and at the end of the 3^rd game, she started making some mistakes and I won 3-0.

Quarter finals with Dipika Pallikal of India

Pix with thanks to Glenn Guan of The Star.

Playing Dipika Pallikal is never easy especially with some of her deceptive shot plays and boasts that she brings into her game. It can be difficult to anticipate thus I was working hard to take those away from her. There were moments when I just got a roll with my own game and she began to hit the tin a little bit more at the end. It was a 3-1 win but it definitely felt longer.

Semi finals with Low Wee Wern of Malaysia
After having an amazing comeback being down 2-0 with Joshna Chinappa, Low Wee Wern came into the semis, probably not completely hundred percent on court. As she’s moved up the rankings, I still expected her to keep those rallies in play and I had to force the pressure on her when I could. The first game was close but in the second and third games, she stepped back slightly and I took the opportunities at the right time to win 3-0.

Finals with Annie Au of Hong Kong

Annie Au is a feisty young player pushing a lot of the top players in the circuit currently. This was her first Asian Games finals and she wanted it badly. Throughout the match, there was no particular time she ever let up. She was firing shots everywhere at any time she could put her racket onto the ball early enough. The intensity was high and we both played well, creating the hype with the exuberant atmosphere at the glass court. When we equalled at 1-1 in games, I needed to step up my play and take it on. I won 3-1 but was very pleased to win the Gold.

On to the Team Event

The team event was straight after the individuals and we got going right away. We beat Japan and Korea in our pool matches to make our crossover semi finals match against India.

Semis against India
In the match against India, we had our full team with me at number 1, Low Wee Wern at number 2 and Delia Arnold at number 3. Unfortunately, Dipika hurt her leg in the pool matches and they had to rest her when we played them. We won 2-0 with Wee Wern beating Anaka Alankamony 3-0 and I beat Joshna 3-0. Once there’s a clear 2-0 win, the third player doesn’t have to play.

Finals against Hong Kong

Pix with thanks to Glenn Guan of The Star.

It was Hong Kong in the finals and Wee Wern was up first against Rebecca Chiu. It was nerve wrecking because I hardly play team tournaments and watching teammates play is the hardest part. The match was really close and it could have gone either way but Wee Wern stood her ground to win that first point for Malaysia. I had to face Annie again and I was fired up after Wee Wern’s win that I went full speed ahead til I won 3-0. We were all overjoyed with this victory and it was even more special as we clinched the 9th Gold for the Malaysian Contingent.

The other results from the guys’ matches—Mohd Azlan Iskandar got the Individual Gold and Ong Beng Hee got the Bronze while the Men’s team got the Silver after losing to Pakistan in the finals.

The Asian Games was a success overall and the team gave it their best to do well in the Games. Thanks team for a fantastic result.

The Women’s World Teams was straight after and reports will follow. Another team experience!

Nicol

Extras!

Some video interviews with Nicol by SwitchUp.tv (thestaronline)

Part 1:

Part 2:

Perry Powers Into World’s Top Five

Whilst Malaysia’s Nicol David continues to head the Women’s World Squash Rankings by more than a one thousand point margin, Ireland’s Madeline Perry celebrates a career-high world No5 ranking in the September list published by the Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (WISPA).

Perry, the 33-year-old from Belfast who boasts 11 national titles, enjoyed the best month of her international career in August when she scored her biggest success at the Australian Open, winning the WISPA Gold title in Canberra in stunning style. The triumph, bringing her Tour title total to eight, takes Perry to her highest ranking since April 2006.

Kasey Brown consolidated her status as Australia’s No2 by leaping two places to a best-ever eighth place. The 25-year-old from New South Wales was a quarter-finalist in the latest two WISPA Gold events, the Singapore Masters in July and Australian Open in August.

Egypt’s Raneem El Weleily also has cause for celebration after making her top ten debut at No10. The 21-year-old from Alexandria recorded her best ever run in a WISPA Gold event in July when she reached the Malaysian Open semi-finals – as a qualifier!

And Nicol David is joined in the top 20 by a fellow Malaysian for the first time for more than two years as a result of Low Wee Wern making her debut in the elite group at No20. Also from Penang, 20-year-old Low Wee Wern was an unexpected quarter-finalist in the Malaysian Open and qualified to make the main draw of the Singapore Masters.

September top 20 (inc. points average):

1 [1] Nicol David MAS 2984
2 [2] Jenny Duncalf ENG 1944
3 [3] Rachael Grinham AUS 1548
4 [4] Alison Waters ENG 1533
5 [6] Madeline Perry IRL 1228
6 [5] Omneya Abdel Kawy EGY 1191
7 [8] Laura Massaro ENG 884
8 [10] Kasey Brown AUS 695
9 [9] Camille Serme FRA 643
10 [11] Raneem El Weleily EGY 576
11 [12] Engy Kheirallah EGY 545
12 [13] Samantha Teran MEX 524
13 [7] Natalie Grinham NED 499
14 [15] Jaclyn Hawkes NZL 487
15 [14] Vanessa Atkinson NED 480
16 [17] Donna Urquhart AUS 467
17 [16] Annie Au HKG 454
18 [18] Rebecca Chiu HKG 415
19 [19] Isabelle Stoehr FRA 391
20 [23] Low Wee Wern MAS 359

For the complete WISPA ranking list, see www.wispa.net

Panoramic view of Hong Kong at night

Memories keep rushing back in as I arrive in this buzzing city. A familiar place for the last 15 years—since I played the Hong Kong Junior Open up to my first World Open title and now, four Hong Kong Open titles later. There’s always something new to discover in this city. Every player makes it a point to play this tournament and the draw this year looked like one at the World Open, having all the top players participating in this event. The players do also rave about the breakfast buffet at our accommodation—Renaissance Harbour View Hotel. We love our perks!

Round 1

Played on the 3-sided glass wall court with Sarah Kippax at the Hong Kong Squash Centre. It was not the easiest court to play on if it’s your first time and Sarah was finding it difficult to begin with on that court. I had more hits there in previous years and took that advantage. We got the rallies working in the 2nd and 3rd games but a lot of it went my way and I won the match 3-0.

Round 2

Meeting Rebecca Chiu for the third year in a row in this tournament at her home court—it always becomes an interesting battle. The first game went point-for-point til 7-7 and I capitalised on the momentum to take the game. It carried on through the 2nd game but when the 3rd game came along, Rebecca started playing some amazing winners that came off and she won that game. Another close game in the 4th and at 9-9, she made her first error after a while to give me match ball and a chance to take the match 3-1.

Quarter Finals

Laura Massaro was in her element in the 1st game—coming out with attacking shots everywhere and without a single error. She seemed more comfortable while I was finding my footing on court. After being a game down, I made it a point to keep her from attacking the way she did by imposing my game on her instead. My focus and movement came together and from that game onwards, I kept that mode til I won the match.

Tough battle against Rachael in the semis

Semi Finals

We moved to the Plaza Hollywood and played on the 4-sided glass wall court for the semis. It’s always exciting playing Rachael Grinham in Hong Kong as we’ve had big matches here. She kept her own flow of the game in the beginning of both the 1st and 2nd games but the intensity was still very high with hardly any errors. I too worked the court well and kept with her right through. Up til the end of each of those games, I took it on further and she made some errors that gave me a 2-0 lead. In the 3rd game, I was keeping it more consistent and she made more mistakes by going for some attacking shots that hit the tin. I got a good lead and managed to win 3-0.

Finals

Jenny Duncalf again in another final and I knew she was going to give it her all here. Both of us played very clinical squash with consistent depth and drives, and taking the opportunities that arose. There were some rallies that I thought would not have stopped because neither of us wanted to let up. I won the 1st game after getting a roll of points from 5-5. Somehow afterwards, I found myself having to fight back being down in the 2nd and 3rd, and it was hard work to keep it going. She started to make a couple of errors and I won both games at 12-10 to win in 3 games.

A great week in Hong Kong and snuck in a bit of food and shopping to fulfill the true Hong Kong experience. Thanks for keeping up on the squash and for your support. Be ready for an exciting World Open in Sharm El Sheikh soon!

Another trophy to add-on to the Hong Kong collection

Amr Shabana & Nicol David Aim For High Fives In Hong Kong

Amr Shabana and Nicol David will be gunning for their fifth successive titles at the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Squash Open when the world’s top players return for one of the biggest annual sporting events in Hong Kong from 23-29 August.

Nicol David, the world number one from Malaysia, is seeded to claim a record fifth women’s title in the $74,000 Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (WISPA) Gold event – while Shabana, the third seed from Egypt, will be hoping to equal the record five titles in a row won by legendary Pakistani Jansher Khan from 1987 to 1991 in the $147,500 PSA World Tour championship, the fifth PSA Super Series event of the year.

Can they make it five each?

The early round matches will take place at Hong Kong Squash Centre in Admiralty before the tournament moves across the harbour to Diamond Hill in Kowloon for the semi-finals and finals, which will be held in a specially erected, state-of-the-art, all-glass court at Plaza Hollywood. Players will be given a brand new experience of playing in front of the big crowds that visit the shopping mall – one of the busiest in Hong Kong.

England’s new world number one Nick Matthew, who was forced to withdraw from the 2009 event with an ankle injury, is top seed in the men’s event. Runner-up in 2004, the 29-year-old from Sheffield faces a qualifier in the opening round before a predicted semi-final confrontation with title-holder Shabana.

Nicol David opens her 2010 campaign against England’s Sarah Kippax and is expected to face English rival Jenny Duncalf, the world No2, in the women’s final.

Speaking after the draws were made, Hong Kong Squash Chairman David Mui said: “Special thanks to our joint-title sponsors Cathay Pacific Airways and Sun Hung Kai Financial, whose support has contributed greatly to our success. I would also like to thank our co-sponsors: Crocodile, Prince, Perrier, Fujifilm, Buler Swiss Watch, Lotus Tours and Plaza Hollywood.

“We are delighted that we attracted all the world best players including our local players, Annie Au, Rebecca Chiu, Joey Chan, Dick Lau and Max Lee, who will, I am sure, have the full support of the home crowd.”

Men’s 1st Round Draw:

[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Qualifier
[9] Daryl Selby (ENG) v Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
[8] Peter Barker (ENG) v Qualifier
[15] Alister Walker (ENG) v Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[12] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Qualifier
[13] Adrian Grant (ENG) v Qualifier
[10] David Palmer (AUS) v Olli Tuominen (FIN)
[7] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v Dick Lau (HKG)
[16] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
[4] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Qualifier
[11] Wael El Hindi (EGY) v Qualifier
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) v Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK)
[14] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) v Qualifier
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v Qualifier

Women’s 1st Round draw:

[1] Nicol David (MAS) v Sarah Kippax (ENG)
[16] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) v Tania Bailey (ENG) *
[7] Laura Massaro (ENG) v Joey Chan (HKG) #
[14] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) v Qualifier
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) v Delia Arnold (MAS)
[9] Camille Serme (FRA) v Qualifier
[6] Madeline Perry (IRL) v Qualifier
[10] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) v Joshnna Chinappa (IND) **
[13] Annie Au (HKG) v Qualifier
[5] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v Qualifier
[11] Samantha Teran (MEX) v Aisling Blake (IRL)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) v Qualifier
[15] Donna Urquhart (AUS) v Line Hansen (DEN)
[8] Kasey Brown (AUS) v Qualifier
[12] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) v Qualifier
[2] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v Latasha Khan (USA)

#Wildcard
*Replaces Low Wee Wern (MAS) withdrew – hamstring injury
**Replaces Dominique Lloyd Walter (ENG) withdrew 26/07 – fractured bone in foot

QUALIFICATION:

1] Emma Beddoes (ENG)
2] Dipika Pallikal (IND)
3] Lisa Camilleri (AUS)
4] Orla Noom (NED)
5] Siti Munirah Jusoh (MAS)
6] Elise Ng (HKG)
7] Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY)
8] Song Sun-Mi (KOR)
9] Lauren Selby (ENG)
10] Tenille Swartz (RSA)
11] Carmen Lee (HKG)
12] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG)
13] Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG)
14] Ho Ka Po (HKG)
15] Karman Siu (HKG)
16] Yu Ra Choi (KOR)
17] Ahn Eun Chan (KOR)
18] Isabella Bersani (USA)
19] Lee Ka Yi (HKG)
20] Szeto Ka Hei (HKG)
21] Chu Ka Hei (HKG)
22] Ho Tze Lok (HKG)
23] Pui Hei Chan (HKG)
24] Uen Shan Choi (HKG)

Last match was played at 10:30pm to a full house. Great crowd.

We begin our live coverage today!
Live scores will be posted on www.facebook.com/SquashStars

It begins downunder!

Kasey Brown (AUS) [7] bt Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL)
11-3, 12-14, 11-6, 11-7 (55m)
The first match in Round 1 of the main draw went according to seeding with Kasey Brown’s win over her  trans-Tasman neighbour—Jaclyn Hawkes. It was not an easy win with Jaclyn stretching Kasey in the second game in a close battle with some long rallies. Kasey now moves on to the quarter finals to meet current world champion, Nicol David.

Annie Au (HKG) [Q] bt Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) [4]
7-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9 (46m)
Annie Au provided the first and only upset of the day by beating Omneya. The young Hong Kong star played some good shots at the front of the court while Omneya kept moving the ball behind. Annie had some fantastic dead shots aimed at the back of the court causing the veteran Egyptian to fall prey to it, numerous times. Kawy still looked a little tired from her matches last week but credit is due to Annie who showed maturity and calmness in steering her way through to the quarter final. “I was nervous in the first game and could not catch Omneya’s shots. But I told myself not to give up and just concentrate and play a good game.” Well done, Annie!

Madeline Perry (IRL) [6] bt Low Wee Wern (MAS) [Q]
12-10, 5-11, 11-1, 11-5 (36m)
Wee Wern started out strong pushing the sixth seed into extra points in the first game and came back from one set down to win the second. Madeline stepped up her game in the third and fourth games, leaving Wee Wern a little misplaced. The lack of depth from some of Wee Wern’s shots and some errors from her in the last two games allowed the Irishwoman to win the match without having to go for a decider. Madeline will meet Hong Kong’s sole survivor and wonder kid—Annie Au in tomorrow’s line up.

Alison through to the quarters.

Alison Waters (ENG) [3] bt Rebecca Chiu (HKG) [Q]
11-2, 11-6, 11-9 (26m)
The game started off with Alison taking charge, not allowing Rebecca to do much—it went very quickly to the Englishwoman at 11-2 in the first set. The second game was more evened out with Rebecca taking the lead at some points of the game but Alison proved too strong and did well to overcome her opponent. The third game was very entertaining as both players tried to constantly outdo each other. Both were taking the balls early and Alison seemed to be doing some ballet moves on court, reaching out for the ball from afar with her racquet outstretched. Rebecca had a much better performance in the third game but it wasn’t enough to stave off the Englishwoman as Alison took the third game 11-9.

Camille Serme (FRA) [8] bt Donna Urquhart (AUS)
11/7, 11/3, 6/11, 10/12, 11/8 (48m)
In the first game, it was all about Camille. As always, there were lots of stretches and some splits from the French star (who I suspect will make a good gymnast too!). First two games went Camille’s way but in the third game, the leftie from Australia stepped up the pace to take the game 11-6. The fourth game was entertaining with the ball being placed at all four corners of the court by both girls with Donna prevailing in extra points. Camille went the extra mile in the fifth game with a very determined stance. Donna tinned a few shots and clawed her way back but lost out 11-8 in the end. Strong play by both girls! Camille faces Alison Waters in the quarter final.

Natalie Grainger (USA) [5] bt Delia Arnold (MAS) [Q]
8-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-2 (45m)
Delia took the first two games off WISPA’s principal and seemed to be the stronger contender, likely to win in three games. But in the third game, Natalie avenged with some forceful shots and took a quick 5-0 lead—whitewashing Delia 11-2! There were numerous strokes given to Natalie in the last two games as Delia seemed to be making more errors, hitting the ball towards herself. She seemed a little out of focus, losing quickly in the fifth game to a more experienced Grainger. “I haven’t played much lately, so it was a matter of finding the right shots and getting the fluidity back, and even adjusting to seeing the ball early. I’m really pleased to be able to come back into the game with a change of tactics, and simply hitting the ball a little deeper.”

Both Delia and Wee Wern were probably experiencing fatigue from their long games yesterday. They have done well to make it to Round 1 and we will definitely be seeing more of these young Malaysians in tournaments to come.

Rachael Grinham (AUS) [2] bt Pamela Chua (SIN)
11-3, 11-2, 11-3 (18m)
This match seemed like a formality to Rachael, rounding up the game in merely 18 minutes! Pamela had an uphill task against the former world number one who was moving well around the court and seemed at ease all through the match. Pamela, the wild card entrant to this tournament, put up a fight in the first two games but by the third, she seemed to have taken a back seat with Rachael taking full control of the match. Rachael kindly commented, “There were no easy points, Pamela was in the rallies and I couldn’t let up for a minute. She moves and hits well but she’s got to play more of these matches to get used to the intensity.”

The home crowd was also very supportive with “oohs” and “aahs” each time Pamela played a good shot. Kudos to the crowd for their encouragement!

Raneem steals a set of top seed, Nicol David. Photo with thanks to www.chroniclepeople.com

Nicol David (MAS) [1] bt Raneem El Weleily (EGY)
8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (42m)
This match was expected to be exciting as Raneem stunned some top seeds just last week at the Malaysian Open. In the first game, Raneem raced to a quick start over the World Champion with a 6-1 lead. Nicol caught up but was still scrambling around the court and lost the first game 8-11. The Egyptian youngster seemed to be on track to create another upset. Perhaps it was the Katong Laksa she had earlier, Nicol’s movement became more fluid and she began to read Raneem’s game better. Raneem, who is known for her perseverance on court, did a fantastic job retrieving most of Nicol’s killer shots but went down fighting to the world number one.

Nicol commented, “She played really well—she was literally firing for all the shots in the first game. It took me awhile to actually get into it. When it came to the second game, I just got a bit more feel of the ball and was hitting the ball better; she slowly made some errors and gave me a better edge to start off each set.”

Live scores will be posted on www.facebook.com/SquashStars

Quarter final line up. (Matches to start at  6:30PM SGT)

Nicol David (MAS) (1) vs Kasey Brown (AUS) (7)

Annie Au (HKG) (Q) vs Madeline Perry (IRL) (6)

Camille Serme (FRA) vs Alison Waters (ENG) (3)

Natalie Grainger (USA) (5) vs Rachael Grinham (AUS) (2)

This year’s qualifiers has been one of the most exciting yet, with all the top juniors showcasing their skills.

Watch out for Joelle King, Nicol!

Despite her spirited fight against up and coming New Zealander Joelle King, talented Joey Chan saw an early exit in the first round. Joelle has been performing really well, even beating top seed Rachael Grinham to win the Texas Open Championship earlier this year! From the back, she could be easily mistaken for Shelley Kitchen as she too displays the same hard hitting style and lanky physique. This Kiwi is definitely going to give defending champion Nicol David a good fight in Round 1 of the main draw.

This one is a hard worker. We overheard Raneem ask for a ball to practice right after one of her matches.

Another impressive qualifier is Egyptian, Raneem El Weleily who fought off both Malaysian veteran, Sharon Wee and 14-year old compatriot, Nour El Sherbini to claim a spot in the main draw. She will be going up against the very tricksy Australian—Rachael Grinham, in the first round. We predict, Raneem is going to give Rachael a good run for her money tomorrow.

Besides her Bollywood good looks, Dipika Pallikal plays a mean game of squash.

India’s Dipika Pallikal also played some impressive squash especially in the first round of qualifiers against an experienced Aisling Blake of Ireland. Dipika showed nerves of steel when she saved 5 match balls in the fourth set and frustrated Aisling out of the qualifiers in the 5th. In the second round, her skilled court play at the front earned her a spot in the main draw. Kudos to her Malaysian opponent Siti Munirah Jusoh who outplayed a very experienced Rebecca Chiu in the first round, only to be thwarted by Dipika in the second. Dipika will meet 8th seed, Laura Massaro in the main draw.

Tania after her hip arthroscopy, last year. Congratulations on your recovery, Tania!

Lastly, England’s Captain, Tania Bailey beat local favorite Delia Arnold and the fiesty Donna Urquhart of Australia with very convincing scorelines. Tania is showing good form despite having just recovered from a hip surgery last year! We look forward to seeing Tania hold her ground against her higher seeded compatriot, Alison Waters, tomorrow.

Need a new squash racquet? You can win one RIGHT HERE!

The Malaysian Team

A lot of the other teams we met here at the Asians do not have the same luxury to play the PSA or WISPA tournaments like us Malaysians so it was great to see the excitement when they were competing in this event.

The tournament keeps on growing each time I compete—and everyone kept reminding me that I’ve played this tournament for 14 years already.  A little hint of how old I am now!

INDIVIDUALS

Day 1

I played Gu Jinyue from China in the first round, then Elise Ng from Hong Kong in the second round. Interesting seeing the Chinese involved in squash and with their background in Badminton, they applied themselves well. Elise put together some good rallies and I had to put the ball away from her control.

Day 2

Song Sun Mi from Korea was a determined player and kept working the ball nicely with some Badminton influences as well with the volleys. We had some long rallies and I kept my focus in the end of each game to win it 3-0.

Day 3

Dipika Pallikal was growing with confidence with the home crowd behind her and I knew I had to keep the pressure on. All throughout the match, I could feel her taking her chances when she could but I made sure in the last game to not let her in.

Day 4

Rebecca Chiu and I have been in the Asian finals so many times and this one seemed like how we always played. She took on the openings and most of her shots were winners. I tightened up my game a bit more and brought the pace up. A few errors from her and moments later, I regained my Asian title once again.

Speech with Major Maniam

Prize presentation

THE TEAM EVENT

Day 5 – Malaysia vs. Korea (1. Song Sun Mi, 2. Park Eun Ok, 3. Kim Ga Hye)

I rested today while the team played well to beat Korea 3-0. Delia won in a convincing manner in 3 games. Wee Wern was still getting into her rhythm in the first game but regained her form to win 3-1 and Sharon came through with a clean 3-0 win.

Day 6 – Malaysia vs. Japan (1. Misaki Kobayashi, 2. Miwa Maekawa, 3. Kozue Onizawa)

We fielded the full team to prepare for our cross over match. Delia started off with a solid display to win 3-0, I had a nice flow through my match winning in straight games and Wee Wern took it on for the team to finish it in 3.

Day 7 – Semi Finals: Malaysia vs. Hong Kong (1. Rebecca Chiu, 2. Annie Au, 3. Joey Chan)

Playing Hong Kong in the semis was a completely different situation for us. The Malaysian girls were set to give it their all. Wee Wern worked hard to get her first game. Joey started attacking more but Wee Wern went for the grind til the end but lost 3-1. My turn to get going and I was firing all the way through to win 3-0. Delia went on next and Annie was on the ball today. Delia kept pushing through and wanted it badly but Annie just managed to squeeze in the victory for the Hong Kong team.

Group photo with the Consular of Malaysia

A great experience for the team and a good display of their determination that will take them far.

The overall results having Mohd Azlan Iskandar win the Men’s title was a treat but Pakistan was better on the day of the finals in the team event and Malaysia took second place. Pakistan are tough competitors and fair play to our team who gave it their best.

Now I’m onto a good two months of training in Amsterdam to build up for next season starting from the Malaysian Open. See you there!!

A little insight of what went on during the week :

Round 1

My first meeting was with a fellow Squash Stars Ambassador from Denmark—Line Hansen and she really played out of her skin that day. Every shot she went for came in. I knew at times when she was leading, I had to keep my composure and play the big points well. That’s how I managed a 3-0 win.

Round 2

After playing Rebecca Chiu in nearly every Hong Kong Open, I think she was expecting to bring her game up for her home crowd that day. I sensed she was about to give it a big push with the local supporters cheering her on but I had to make sure I kept my game together. Everything worked well for me as I got a better feel of the court after my first round.

Quarter Final

Another meeting with Jenny Duncalf in the Quarters and this time you could see she wanted it badly. She had some amazing shots coming in the first few rallies, then she kept wanting to do more. The pace was fast and the ball kept coming back so I used my time better on the ball to place my shots well throughout the match. Some unforced errors from her gave me some leverage but in the third she pushed hard to keep it a close one.

Semi Final

Just fresh from beating Alison Waters 3-2 the day before, Laura Massaro was on the glass court with me at the Plaza Hollywood to start the semis day off live on TVB Pearl Hong Kong. The atmosphere was buzzing with enthusiastic squash fans and curious shoppers who stopped to watch the game. It felt like being back in Malaysia, playing at the Curve or Berjaya Times Square. Laura got off to a good start as I was still trying to get going on the glass court. There was a moment in the first game where I found my movement and feel of the ball all at the same time and took it on immediately. Despite me winning the first 2 games, Laura never gave up and was leading 10-9 game ball in the third. It leveled to 10-10 after the ball was lost in between the seats outside the court and we had to change to a new ball. An odd bounce from my shot and 2 long rallies later, I got the match.

Final

The last match of the tournament and I’m up against Omneya Abdel Kawy who beat Rachael Grinham 3-0 in the other semis. Omneya came out with everything she had and threw shots like no other squash player can. She’s a natural talent and I had to be ready for unexpected shots coming from this shot maker. My game and focus were at its’ peak and I could hardly remember my whole match. I went onto the court just keeping that ball going and the pace was fast! If I had lost my focus off the ball, it would have sped past me in the blink of an eye. Great match from the two of us and definitely more to come.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 5 years since winning here at the Worlds and to win this Hong Kong Open title 4 times in a row, I must say that this city has something special that keeps me going… I think it’s the food and the shopping too!

Cheers to everyone who’s been following the updates. See you back here again from Brooklyn Heights, New York for the Carol Weymuller Open come early November.