Iskandar, El Hindi Race to Finals
Dec 30, 2004, by Howard Harding; SquashTalk Independent News Service © 2004;

Semi final Round   [draw/results]

In the type of rapid-fire matches that have become possible with the new 11-point professional scoring system, Malaysia's Iskandar and Egypt's El Hindi overwhelmed their opponents in less that 1/2 hour each to reach the finals of the Malaysian Open Championships in Kuala Lumpur this evening.

Mohd Azlan Iskandar is one match away from winning his third PSA Tour title of the year - and from becoming only the second Malaysian ever to win his country's prized Open title - after brushing aside Pakistan's Shahid Zaman in straight games in today's semi-finals of the Country View Malaysian Open Squash Championship at the National Squash Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Avenging his defeat by Zaman in June's Asian Team Championship final, the 22-year-old from Sarawak beat the fourth-seeded Pakistani 11-3 11-6 11-4 in 27 minutes to set up a final against Egypt's third seed Wael El Hindi.

It took two minutes longer, and four games, for El Hindi to overcome compatriot Ramy Ashour 11-3 10-11 11-2 11-4 in the other semi-final. It was a disappointing outcome for 17-year-old Ashour, who also hails from Cairo and was experiencing his first ever defeat on the PSA Tour. He won the first event he played - the Athens Open in Greece in November - only three months after becoming the youngest ever winner of the world junior crown in Pakistan.

This is 24-year-old El Hindi's first appearance in a PSA final in Malaysia since winning the Kuala Lumpur Open in February - on the very same courts at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.

RESULTS: Country View Malaysian Open Squash Championship, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Semi-finals:
[3] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [Q] Ramy Ashour (EGY) 11-3, 10-11 (0-2), 11-2, 11-4 (29m)
[2] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [4] Shahid Zaman (PAK) 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 (27m)

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