Annie Au (HKG) bt Heba El Torky (EGY) 10-12, 11-1, 11-6, 8-11, 11-3 (60m)
Qualifier Chan Shines In KL
Qualifier Joey Chan led a flurry of upsets in today’s first round of the CIMB KL Open Squash Championships in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The established international Tour event is celebrating its sixth successive year sponsored by CIMB.
Joey Chan, the lowest-ranked player in the women’s WISPA World Tour Gold event, produced a sensational performance to oust Egypt’s fourth seed Omneya Abdel Kawy 11-5, 12-10, 11-7 in just 32 minutes.
The fast-rising 22-year-old, ranked 29 in the world, will now face Madeline Perry, the seventh seed from Ireland who battled for 72 minutes to overcome Mexican qualifier Samantha Teran 15-17, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6.
Incredibly, all but three of the women’s first round matches took an hour or more to resolve: Fifth seed Rachael Grinham, the 2001 champion from Australia, took 70 minutes to overcome unseeded Malaysian Low Wee Wern 11-5, 11-4, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6 – equalling the time it took France’s No8 seed Camille Serme to beat another Malaysian Delia Arnold, a qualifier, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7.
It was a hugely disappointed second seed Jenny Duncalf, from England, who was forced to withdraw from the tournament as a result of a groin strain sustained in last week’s World Cup in India.
Egypt’s Heba El Torky stepped into the breach as ‘lucky loser’ – and immediately stretched world No11 Annie Au to five games before the 22-year-old from Hong Kong prevailed 10-12, 11-1, 11-6, 8-11, 11-3.
A day after making history by being voted ‘Malaysian Sportswoman of the Year’ for a record eighth year, Nicol David successfully began the defence of her title with an 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 win over English qualifier Sarah Kippax.
The world number one from Penang is seeded to reach the final for the eighth year in a row – and win the title for the seventh time since 2000.
Women’s quarter-final line-up:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v [6] Kasey Brown (AUS)
[3] Alison Waters (ENG) v [5] Rachael Grinham (AUS)
