After taking completely different pathways today, the top two seeds in both the men’s and women’s events will battle for the gold tomorrow at the Asian Games squash venue just outside Busan.

Ong Beng Hee (Malaysia) beat Shahid Zaman (Pakistan) in a marathon two-hour encounter. (photo © 2002, Gerry Gibson for SquashTalk)

The men’s final will pit Ong Beng Hee against Monsoor Zaman, in will most certainly will be a battle of patience. The Malaysian #1 withstood an awesome display of shotmaking from Shahid Zaman, fighting from 1-2 down and 6-7 in the fourth to earn a birth in tomorrow’s final by scores of 9-6, 6-9, 4-9, 9-7, 9-4 in just over 2 hours of squash. Zaman had Beng Hee totally off his game in the second and third, as he couldn’t miss hitting the nick. Beng Hee’s patience paid off in the end though, as Zaman saw a number of backhand volley kill attempts pop up, which Beng Hee countered for winners.

Monsoor Zaman didn’t need to work as hard, outplaying Mohd Azlan Iksander 9-2, 9-2, 3-9, 9-2. Iksander seemed to be step off the pace from the beginning, as he was unable to do anything with Zaman’s delicate front court game.

In the women’s final, Nicol David will be looking for her second straight Asian Games gold when she takes on Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong.

Nicol David looks unstoppable against Lee Hae Kyung. (photo © 2002, Gerry Gibson for SquashTalk)

David took out Korea’s Lee Hae Kyung in three tough games, 9-5, 10-8, 9-2. Hundreds of cheering “red devils” showed up chatting “Dae Han Ming Guk” (Oh, victory Korea), and it seemed to have an effect early on. After a tight first game, David saved two game balls, winning the second 10-8, and cruised through the third 9-2. In the other semi, Rebecca Chiu was spurred on by a large Hong Kong cheering section, and survived a nervous start to dominate Malaysian #2 Sharon Wee by scores of 2-9, 9-1, 9-1, 9-2. She’ll need to do something special tomorrow, however, if she has any plans of stopping the Malaysian #1.

Semi Final Scores:
Men
Ong Beng Hee 3 Shahid Zaman 2
9-6, 6-9, 4-9, 9-7, 9-4
Monsoor Zaman 3 Mohd Azlan Iksander 1
9-2, 9-2, 3-9, 9-2

Women’s
Nicol David 3 Lee Hae Kyung 0
9-5, 10-8, 9-2
Rebecca Chiu 3 Sharon Wee 1
2-9, 9-1, 9-1, 9-2