[PSA Draw/Results ]             [WISPA Draw/Results ]        

Palmer, Atkinson Work Harder Than Anticipated to Advance

In first day's action in Hong Kong, Azlan Iskandar, the hero of last week's Village Open faced a marathon match against England's Alistair Walker, falling in an hour and a half and possibly suffering after effects of his long week in New York.

On the men's side, it was extreme disappointment for Malaysia overall as Ong Beng Hee also went down, upset by Peter Barker in 80 minutes of play.

England's Willstrop books a second round berth (photo:©2006 Alex Wan)

English camp rejoices…..

England booked six berths in both the men’s and women’s event each. In the men’s, two English quarter finalists are also assured, as Ponterfact pair Lee Beachill and James Willstrop will play the conquerors of the Malaysian boys tomorrow. Both Willstrop and Beachill had similarly tough matches today.

Vicky Botwright swept aside any hopes of additional local representation when she beat Christina Mak convincingly, dropping only a single point, in the fifth rally of the match. The pace of the game was simply too much for Mak to handle, an opinion shared by her coach Tony Choi.

Liam Kenny couldn't dent Thierry Lincou's steady play. (photo:©2006 Alex Wan)

….while Malaysians falter

The pair of Azlan Iskandar and Ong Beng Hee, currently ranked 16 and 17 in the PSA, both fell to their lower ranked English opponents. Azlan came back from two games down to force a decider, but Walker pushed through the fifth to earn himself a second round encounter against Beachill in this super series event. The match also saw a tie break that went to 9-7 in the second game. Bengy, who got on court not long after that, fell to left-hander Peter Barker in four games. The first round loss marks one of his worst performances in Hong Kong, a place he once said was his lucky venue.

Tricia Chuah had a disappointing loss to Rebecca Chiu in round one (photo:©2006 Alex Wan)

Sharon Wee and Tricia Chuah, who helped Malaysia to their best ever finish in the World Team’s recently, were also both knocked out. Wee fell to Shelley Kitchen of New Zealand tamely, losing the last two games in ten minutes, having started off extremely well. Tricia, meanwhile, faced Hong Kong’s darling of squash Rebecca Chiu. Like Wee, the young Malaysian too started off very well, racing to a 6-1 lead in the first. But Chiu’s experience showed, as she changed the pace of the game and reducing opportunities for Chuah to volley – her main weapon of choice for the day

The loss of the four Malaysians leaves world champion Nicol David the sole flag bearer for the South East Asian nation. Playing in her first Hong Kong Open, David broke little sweat in disposing Melissa Martin of Australia. David could win it the first time round, but so can many others, as the last time the women’s event was held was in 2001.

Egyptian party
While not as dominating as the Englis, Egypt too has plenty to cheer for – they have three men and two ladies tomorrow. Shabana was nowehere to be threatened by local wildcard Wong Wai Hang, though the lad did put up quite a performance today. Wael El Hindi had a physical match against Pakistan’s Mansoor Zaman. In fact, it should be a difficult game, as Zaman retired injured after only a game, ending all Pakistani challenge in the event.

Amr Shabana beat Chinese pro Wai Hang Won. (photo:©2006 Alex Wan)

It was the total dominance of Ramy Ashour in his straight games win that had heads turning. The double world junior champion stunned Scotland’s John White in one of his biggest career victories. Speaking to the media afterwards, Ashour explained he is trying to balance up his game rather than going for nicks all the time. “It’s something that has to be there to play these big boys”, he said.

The Egyptian ladies both won their matches, Engy Kheirallah beating compatriot Raneem El-Weleily in four while Omneya Abdel Kawy swept aside surprise qualifier Peta Hughes.

All other matches went to seeding, but some with a little twist, with the likes of Atkinson and Palmer, both having to work hard before seeing  off the challenges of their opponents.

Vanessa Atkinson got past Rebecca Botwright (photo:©2006 Alex Wan)

RESULTS:        Cathay Pacific Swiss Privilege Hong Kong Open Squash Championships, Hong Kong

Men's First round:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Wai Hang Wong (HKG) 11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 11-8 (30m)
Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt [14] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-4, 11-7, 11-6 (29m)
[6] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-6, 11-3, 11-3 (32m)
[16] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [Q] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-11, 11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 11-0 (49m)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Alex Gough (WAL) 11-10 (4-2), 11-10 (2-0), 11-4 (42m)
[Q] Alister Walker (ENG) bt [11] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 11-7, 10-11 (7-9), 8-11, 11-10 (4-2), 11-5 (88m)
[5] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 10-11 (0-2), 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-10 (5-3)
[9] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [Q] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) 11-5, 11-4, 10-11 (0-2), 11-5 (36m)
Peter Barker (ENG) bt [13] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-8 10-11(0-2) 11-8 11-7 (74m)
[8] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt Shahier Razik (CAN) 11-6 9-11 11-9 11-6 (68m)
Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [10] John White (SCO) 11-9 11-9 11-8 (34m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [Q] Liam Kenny (IRL) 11-7 11-5 11-4 (31m)
[12] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-6, 9-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7 (49m)
[7] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [Q] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-6, 11-3, 2-11, 11-1 (36m)
[15] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [Q] Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-10(4-2) retired (14m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) v [Q] Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11-6 11-9 10-11(0-2) 11-7 (39m)

Women's First round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Melissa Martin (AUS) 9-0, 9-3, 9-1 (20m)
[15] Annelize Naude (NED) bt [Q] Louise Crome (NZL) 9-7 9-6 9-2 (38m)
[8] Madeline Perry (IRL) v Latasha Khan (USA) 9-2 6-9 10-8 9-1 (45m)
[16] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) bt [Q] Runa Reta (CAN) 9-3 9-2 10-8 (54m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) 9-3, 9-3, 9-2 (19m)
[14] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 9-5, 5-9, 5-9, 10-8, 9-2 (51m)
[6] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [Q] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) 9-3, 9-0, 9-7 (36m)
[9] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [Q] Peta Hughes (AUS) 9-0, 9-4, 10-8 (23m)
[13] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt Tricia Chuah (MAS) 9-6, 9-5, 9-4 (29m)
[5] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt Christina Mak (HKG) 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 (22m)
[10] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Kasey Brown (AUS) 9-1, 9-1, 9-2 (27m)
[4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 9-6, 9-0, 9-3 (30m)
[12] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt Sharon Wee (MAS) [7] 9-6 9-1 9-1 (22m)
Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Tegwen Malik (WAL) 9-3 9-3 9-3 (32m)
[11] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) bt Lauren Briggs (ENG) 9-1 10-9 4-9 9-3 (55m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [Q] Rebecca Botwright (ENG) 9-1, 5-9, 9-5, 9-6 (40m)

The top seeds with tournament officials, opening the event (photo:©2006 Alex Wan)