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1st-Aug, Finals:
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt
[4] Alison Waters (Eng)
11/6, 11/8, 9/11, 11/7 (60m)
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt
[2] Nick Mathew (Eng)
5/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/4 (51m) |
David & Shabana shine in KL
Top seeds Nicol David and Amr Shabana secured the
titles in the CIMB Malaysian Open after scoring four-game victories
over English opponents in finals of the established international
squash event at The Curve Shopping Mall at Mutiara Damansara in
Kuala Lumpur.
It was the fifth title triumph in a row for Nicol David in the
climax of the women's event in front of an adoring local crowd in
her country's capital. But her surprise opponent Alison Waters, the
fourth seed from London who gate-crashed the final after beating
second-seeded Australian Rachael Grinham in straight games in the
semis, extended the three-year-long world number one further than
before in their tenth career meeting.
David, 25, from Penang, recovered after dropping the third game -
her first of the tournament - to win 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 in
exactly one hour.
"I knew that Alison had made it to the final playing well, and as I
had played her in Seoul I knew that it would be hard," said the new
champion after clinching her fourth WISPA Tour title this year, and
the 38th of her career.
When asked about her fifth Malaysian Open crown in a row, David
responded: "It is always a challenge, but I am really helped by the
crowd cheering me on."
Though disappointed by her defeat, 25-year-old world No6 Waters was
pleased with her performance: "I was delighted to have reached the
final and I played well yesterday to beat Rachael - which gave me
confidence going into today's final with Nicol.
"This was my first gold final and I was really looking forward to
it. It was a question of sticking in there and I had my chances in
all the games. I just got my slot selection wrong at the end of a
couple of them. But I was generally pleased with my performance and
that I got closer to her.
"I think we played a good match and felt this was the closest that I
have got to Nicol - so overall it was a good tournament and looking
forward to Singapore next week."
Amr Shabana, the three-time world champion from Cairo, was competing
in KL for the first time since 2000 - and looking for his first Tour
title of the year.
In the climax of the men's event, the 30-year-old was facing
England's Nick Matthew, the second seed who last week won the gold
medal in the World Games in Chinese Taipei.
With too many errors from the Egyptian in the first game, world No5
Matthew soon opened up a one-game lead. But Shabana cut down the
errors in the second and drew level before increasing his dominance
over Matthew to forge a 5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 title-winning victory
after 51 minutes.
"I have no complaints," said Shabana after clinching the 23rd PSA
Tour title of his career. "It is good to win a tournament after such
a long time. It has taken hard work and patience along with the
realisation that I am still a good player."
Matthew admitted that his opponent deserved the win: "I kept
fighting but he was too good, even though I was throwing everything
at him," explained the 29-year-old from Sheffield.
"He got the balance between defence and attack better than I did.
Nothing changes really; I am trying to get into the top four and
Shabana showed that he is too!"
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31-Jul, Semi-Finals:
(thanks to Saphian Salleh for the results)
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [3] Natalie Grinham (Ned)
11-6, 15-13, 12-10 (46m)
[4] Alison Waters (Eng) bt [2] Rachael Grinham (Aus)
11-1, 11-4, 11-4 (44m)
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [4] James Willstrop (Eng)
11-3, 11-4, 12-14, 11-9 (59m)
[2] Nick Mathew (Eng) bt [3] Wael El Hindi (Egy) 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 |
Grinham comes close ... |
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ALISON PREVAILS
 England's
Alison Waters recorded one of the most decisive wins of her
career when she upset Australia's No2 seed Rachael Grinham in
straight games in today's (Friday) semi-finals of the CIMB Malaysian
Open.
Ranked six in the world, the 25-year-old Londoner marked her fourth
win in six meetings over world No4 Grinham in an 11-1, 11-4, 11-4
victory in 44 minutes. Waters, now in her third Tour final of the
year and the eighth of her career, will face event favourite
Nicol David, the world number one from Malaysia who is now one
match away from her fifth successive title.
David reached her seventh final in a row when she despatched third
seed Natalie Grinham, the world No3 from the Netherlands,
11-6, 15-13, 12-10.
The two finalists will be meeting for the tenth time on the WISPA
Tour since 2004 - with Waters looking for her first win.
IT WILL BE SHABANA VS
NICK...
Favourite Amr Shabana, the three-time world champion
competing in KL for the first time since 2000, dropped his first
game of the tournament in overcoming England's fourth seed James
Willstrop.
The 30-year-old from Cairo overwhelmed the Yorkshireman in the first
two games - then Willstrop struck back to take the third. But
Shabana battled on to overcome the tiring Willstrop, ultimately
winning 11-3, 11-4, 12-14, 11-9 in 59 minutes to reach his first PSA
final of the year - but the 34th of his career.
World No4 Shabana will face another Englishman in the final when he
takes on Nick Matthew. Buoyed by last week's gold medal
success in the World Games in Chinese Taipei, Matthew beat Egypt's
third seed Wael El Hindi 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 - and is now
in his 27th career Tour final. |
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30-Jul: Men's
quarter-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [8] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6
(45m)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 11-6, 11-4, 11-6
(55m)
[3] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [6] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-9, 12-14, 8-11,
11-6, 11-9 (108m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [7] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-5, 11-8,
11-9 (35m)
Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Kasey Brown (AUS) 11-4, 11-8, 11-3
(32m)
[3] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [8] Madeline Perry (IRL) 11-5, 11-7,
10-12, 11-3 (53m)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [7] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) 2-11,
11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (45m)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 11-9, 11-7,
6-11, 4-11, 11-9 (80m) |
Beng Hee Bombs Out After
Malaysian Open Marathon
Local hero Ong Beng Hee, the title-holder from Penang, took
higher-ranked Egyptian Wael El Hindi the full distance in the
quarter-finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open - but ultimately crashed
out after 108 minutes to leave the country's premier annual
international squash championships in Kuala Lumpur without Malaysian
interest in the men's semi-finals for the first time in eight years.
In the $52k PSA event, sixth seed Beng Hee - three times winner of
the title since 2000 - moved ahead of the world No9 from Cairo after
three games. But El Hindi, the third seed who lost to the Malaysian
in the 2005 final, reclaimed the advantage to record a 11-9, 12-14,
8-11, 11-6, 11-9 victory – much to the disappointment of the local
fans surrounding the all-glass court at The Curve Shopping Mall at
Mutiara Damansara.
In one of two Anglo/Egyptian men's semi-finals, El Hindi will face
second seed Nick Matthew, the recently-crowned World Games
champion who took less than a third of the Egyptian's match time to
defeat Pakistan's Aamir Atlas Khan 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 in 35 minutes.
The result was hardly the best present for the world No19 from
Peshawar, who was celebrating his 19th birthday!
Top seed Amr Shabana, the three-time world champion competing
in KL for the first time since 2000, kept his straight games run
intact with an 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 win over Pakistan's Farhan Mehboob.
The former world number one will now take on James Willstrop,
the fourth seed from England who beat unseeded Egyptian Omar Mosaad
11-6, 11-4, 11-6.
Malaysian superstar Nicol David moved one step closer to her
seventh successive appearance in the women's final after despatching
Australia's Kasey Brown 11-4, 11-8, 11-3 in the $53k WISPA event.
 The
25-year-old world number one from Penang will now face long-time
Tour rival Natalie Grinham for a place in the final. The
third-seeded Dutch star earned a repeat of last year's final – and
last week's World Games gold medal play-off – after beating
Ireland's Madeline Perry, the eighth seed, 11-5, 11-7, 10-12, 11-3.
Natalie's sister Rachael Grinham also earned a place in the
last four – but the second seed from Australia had to fight off a
courageous comeback by Jenny Duncalf before finally beating her
fifth-seeded English opponent 11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 4-11, 11-9 in 80
minutes.
Grinham senior now has another English opponent to deal with:
Alison Waters, the fourth seed from London, had to recover from
a game down before overcoming England team-mate Laura
Lengthorn-Massaro, the No7 seed, 2-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4.
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Photo Gallery
from M Roslan
Complete
Draws
Live on
SquashStars
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29-Jul, First Round:
Omar upsets Azlan
Two local players failed at the first hurdle in the men's event – and Omar Mosaad caused the downfall of
the bigger of the two when he upset two time champion Azlan
Iskandar. The fifth seed from Kuala Lumpur took the opening
game, but was unable to extend his advantage as 21-year-old Mosaad
took the upper hand before going on to beat the world No13 and local
hero 10-12, 11-5, 11-1, 11-9 in 56 minutes.
It is the first time that Iskandar, the champion in 2004 and 2007,
has failed to make at least the semi-finals in six successive
appearances in the event since 2004.
Mosaad, the world No26 from Cairo, goes on to meet England's
James Willstrop for a place in the semi-finals. Fourth seed
Willstrop, who won the silver medal in last week's World Games in
his first competitive appearance since undergoing ankle surgery in
April, made a shaky start to his maiden KL campaign when he dropped
the first two games.
But the former world No2 from Leeds in Yorkshire re-established his
authority on the match by beating Egypt's unseeded Hisham
Ashour 10-12, 8-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-3 in 56 minutes.
Local interest in the men's event is now carried single-handedly by
sixth seed Ong Beng Hee, the defending champion from Penang.
In his eighth consecutive appearance in the event since 2000, the
three-time champion despatched local wild card opponent Muhd
Asyraf Azan 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 to reach the quarter-finals.
Top seed Amr Shabana celebrated his first PSA Tour appearance
in KL since 2000 with an 11-3, 11-1, 11-6 win over Pakistan
qualifier Yasir Butt. The three-time world champion from
Egypt will now face another Pakistani when he takes on Farhan
Mehboob, the No8 seed who battled for exactly one hour to
overcome Australian Cameron Pilley 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 4-11,
11-7.
Second seed Nick Matthew, the Englishman who is expected to
line up against Shabana in Saturday's final, beat rising German star
Simon Rosner, a qualifier, 11-5, 11-8, 13-11.
"It was good to win 3/0," said Matthew, the new World Games
champion. "He's a dangerous player!"
Kasey ditches Omneya
Australia's Kasey Brown stole the headlines in the women's event. The unseeded 23-year-old from
New South Wales upset sixth-seeded Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy 12-10,
11-5, 11-7 - only days after the world No7 from Cairo clinched the
bronze medal in the World Games in Chinese Taipei.
Brown now faces top seed Nicol David, the world number one
and local heroine who has her sights on a fifth title in a row –
after reaching her seventh successive final! The 25-year-old from
Penang got her 2009 campaign off to a healthy start with an 11-4,
11-5, 11-8 victory over 2004 champion Vanessa Atkinson, the
former world number one from the Netherlands.
In the other half of the draw, a trio of English players stand in
the way of Australia's second seed Rachael Grinham reaching
the final for the first time after five semi-final finishes since
2002.
Grinham recovered from a two-game deficit to beat France's
Isabelle Stoehr 11-13, 6-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-5 – and will now
take on Jenny Duncalf, the fifth seed from England who
defeated French qualifier Camille Serme 11-9, 11-8, 11-7.
The adjacent quarter-final will be an all-English affair between
seventh seed Laura Lengthorn-Massaro and fourth seed
Alison Waters. Both needed four games to get the better of their
first round opponents – Lengthorn-Massaro overcoming Hong Kong
qualifier Annie Au 11-4, 3-11, 11-4, 11-4, while Londoner
Waters took 48 minutes to defeat Mexican qualifier Samantha Teran
11-2, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8.
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28-Jul, Qualifying Finals:
Blake & Butt battle into
Malaysian Open draws
Pakistan's Yasir Butt and Ireland's Aisling Blake
pulled off notable upsets in the qualifying finals of the CIMB
Malaysian Open to earn places in the main draws of Malaysia's
leading international squash championship.
Blake, the world No31, reached eight places above her in the world
rankings to defeat England's Sarah Kippax 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 in 41
minutes in the women's event.
The Irish number two from Sligo has been drawn to meet eighth seed
Madeline Perry – the Irish number one and her opponent in six Irish
national championship finals since 2002!
France's Camille Serme also claimed a surprise place in the
first round. The 20-year-old from Creteil beat higher-seeded Dane
Line Hansen 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 and will now line up against England's
fifth seed Jenny Duncalf.
Butt became the lowest-ranked player to make the main draw of the
men's event when he beat Egypt's Tarek Momen, ranked 27 in the
world, 11-4, 12-10, 11-5 in 37 minutes.
The world No61 from Lahore was then handed the toughest opponent in
the first round when he was drawn to face top seed Amr Shabana, the
three time world champion from Egypt. The world No4 from Cairo, who
celebrated his 30th birthday a week ago, is competing in his first
PSA Tour event since April.
There was Pakistan disappointment elsewhere in the qualifying finals
when Mansoor Zaman, a former world No11, went down 11-5, 11-3, 11-5
in 25 minutes to promising German Simon Rosner.
The 21-year-old from Paderborn will now face England's No2 seed Nick
Matthew, the world No5 from Sheffield who arrived in Kuala Lumpur
fresh from his gold medal triumph in last week's World Games in
Chinese Taipei.
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Draws & Qualifying Results
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Qualifying Results
"We are indeed very delighted to be
able to continue this CIMB Open series following our third two-year
sponsorship term with effect from 1 July 2009 till 30 June 2011.
This renewal is even more meaningful as this year of 2009 is pivotal
for the Olympic future of the sport of Squash.
"CIMB's renewal is also done during a period of the world economic
contraction! This further underscores CIMB's commitment in its
sports partnership with us"
President of event hosts the Squash Racquets Association of
Malaysia |
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NICK AND NICOL IN MALAYSIA...
Just days after claiming the Squash gold medals in the World Games
in Chinese Taipei, England's Nick Matthew and Malaysian
Nicol David are back in the pursuit of world ranking points and
Tour title triumphs at the CIMB Malaysian Open Squash
Championships in Kuala Lumpur.
THE LADIES....
Nicol, who this month celebrated her third complete unbroken
year at the top of the women's world rankings, is seeded to reach
her seventh successive final - and win her fifth title in a row - in
the $53,500 WISPA World Tour Gold event which gets underway on
Wednesday (29 July), after qualifying which begins today.
David faces a tough first round hurdle in the shape of 2004 champion
Vanessa Atkinson, the former world number one and world
champion from the Netherlands. En-route to the final, the
25-year-old from Penang is likely to face Egypt's sixth seed
Omneya Abdel Kawy and third-seeded Dutch player Natalie
Grinham - her semi-final and final victims, respectively, last
week in Kaohsiung!
In the final, favourite David is expected to renew her acquaintance
with Australia's world number four Rachael Grinham - in what
would be their 12th meeting in a WISPA final since April 2000.
AND THE BOYS...
Nick, the world number five from Sheffield, is the second
seed in the men's $52,500 5-star PSA World Tour event - in which he
is expected to meet Egypt's three-time World Open champion Amr
Shabana, the top seed, in Saturday's final on an all-glass
showcourt at the The Curve Shopping Mall at Damansara.
Nick Matthew faces a qualifier in his opening match, before an
anticipated quarter-final clash with Pakistan teenager Aamir
Atlas Khan, the No7 seed. His predicted semi-final opponent is
Wael El Hindi, the third seed from Egypt - but the
29-year-old from Cairo is expected first to meet defending champion
and local hero Ong Beng Hee in the quarter-finals.
INJURIES...
Injuries sustained at the World Games have led to the late
withdrawals of New Zealander Shelley Kitchen, the world No10,
from the women's event, and Australian Stewart Boswell,
ranked 20 in the world. England's fourth seed Adrian Grant,
the 2006 champion, has also been forced to pull out, following a
calf injury.
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 Malaysian
Open 2009
27 Jul - 01 Aug, Kuala Lumpur, $53k |
Round One
29
Jul |
Quarters
30 Jul |
Semis
31 Jul |
Final
01 Aug |
[1]
Nicol David (Mas)
11/4, 11/5, 11/8 (38m)
Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) |
[1]
Nicol David
11/4,11/8,11/3 (32m)
Kasey Brown (Aus) |
[1]
Nicol David 11-6, 15-13, 12-10
(46m)
[3]
Natalie Grinham |
[1]
Nicol David 11/6, 11/8, 9/11,
11/7 (60m)
[4] Alison Waters |
[6]
Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
12/10,11/5,11/7 (33m)
Kasey Brown (Aus) |
[3]
Natalie Grinham (Ned)
11/5,11/4,11/8 (31m)
Delia Arnold (Mas) |
[3]
Natalie Grinham
11/5, 11/7, 10/12, 11/3 (53m)
[8] Madeline Perry |
[8]
Madeline Perry (Irl)
11/4, 12/10, 11/3 (35m)
[Q] Aisling Blake (Irl) |
[Q] Annie Au (Hkg)
11/4, 3/11, 11/4, 11/4 (32m)
[7] Laura L. Massaro (Eng) |
[7] Laura L. Massaro
2/11,11/8,11/5,11/4 (45m)
[4] Alison Waters |
[4] Alison Waters 11-1, 11-4,
11-4 (44m)
[2] Rachael Grinham |
[Q] Samantha Teran (Mex)
11/2, 7/11, 11/8, 11/8 (48m)
[4] Alison Waters (Eng) |
[Q] Camille Serme (Fra)
11/9, 11/8, 11/7 (34m)
[5] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) |
[5] Jenny Duncalf
11/9,11/7,6/11,4/11,11/9 (80m)
[2] Rachael Grinham |
Isabelle Stoehr (Fra)
11/13, 6/11, 11/2, 11/5, 11/5 (53m)
[2] Rachael Grinham (Aus) |
28-Jul,
Qualifying Finals:
Annie Au (Hkg) bt
Lauren Siddall (Eng)
12/10,11/7,11/8 (32m)
Aisling Blake (Irl) bt Sarah Kippax (Eng)
11/5,11/9,11/7 (41m)
Camille Serme (Fra) bt Line Hansen (Den)
11/9,11/4,11/7 (31m)
Samantha Teran (Mex) bt Tenille Swartz (Rsa)
11/8,9/11,11/8,11/7 (51m)
27-Jul, Qualifying
Round One:
Annie Au (Hkg) bt Birgit Coufal (Aut)
11/6,11/5,11/8 (17m)
Lauren Siddall (Eng)
bt
Sharon Wee (Mas)
11/5,11/4,11/8 (22m)
Sarah Kippax (Eng) bt
Lim Yoke Wah (Mas)
11/6,11/4,13/11 (32m)
Aisling Blake (Irl) bt
Lisa Camilleri (Aus)
12/10, 17/15, 11/5 (43m)
Camille Serme (Fra)
bt Low Wee Wern (Mas) /9, 11/4, 5/11, 11/7 (49m)
Line Hansen (Den) bt Siti Munirah Jusoh (Mas)
11/9,11/5,11/9 (38m)
Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt
Donna Urquhart (Aus) 13/11, 11/2, 11/7
(23m)
Samantha Teran (Mex) bt Pushppa Devi (Mas)
11/8, 11/4, 11/6 (22m)
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 Malaysian
Open 2009
27 Jul - 01 Aug, Kuala Lumpur, $52k |
Round One
29 Jul |
Quarters
30 Jul |
Semis
31 Jul |
Final
01 Aug |
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy)
11/3, 11/1, 11/6 (25m)
[Q] Yasir Butt (Pak) |
[1] Amr Shabana
11/6,11/8,11/6 (45m)
[8]
Farhan Mehboob |
[1] Amr Shabana
11-3, 11-4, 12-14, 11-9 (59m)
[4] James Willstrop |
[1] Amr Shabana
5/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/4 (51m)
[2] Nick Matthew |
[8]
Farhan Mehboob (Pak)
11/6, 8/11, 11/6, 4/11, 11/7 (60m)
Cameron Pilley (Aus) |
[4]
James Willstrop (Eng)
10/12, 8/11, 13/11, 11/8, 11/3 (56m)
Hisham Ashour (Egy) |
[4]
James Willstrop
11/6,11/4,11/6 (55m)
Omar Mosaad |
[5]
Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
10/12, 11/5, 11/1, 11/9 (56m)
Omar Mosaad (Egy) |
Muhd
Asyraf Azan (Mas)
11/5, 11/9, 11/5 (39m)
[6] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) |
[6] Ong Beng Hee
11/9,12/14,8/11,11/6,11/9 (108m)
[3] Wael El Hindi |
[3] Wael El Hindi
11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8
[2] Nick Matthew |
[Q] Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
11/8,11/7,11/6 (50m)
[3] Wael El Hindi (Egy) |
[Q] Renan Lavigne (Fra)
11/3, 11/8, 8/11, 8/11, 11/7 (64m)
[7] Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak) |
[7] Aamir Atlas Khan
11/5,11/8,11/9 (35m)
[2] Nick Matthew |
[Q] Simon Rosner (Ger)
11/5, 11/8, 13/11 (38m)
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng) |
28-Jul, Qualifying
Round Finals:
Yasir Butt
(Pak) bt Tarek
Momen (Egy)
11/4,12/10,11/5 (37m)
Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)
11/9,11/5,11/8 (55m)
Simon Rosner (Ger) bt Mansoor Zaman (Pak)
11/5,11/3,11/5 (25m)
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Julien Balbo (Fra)
7/11,11/5,11/4,11/7 (58m)
27-Jul, Qualifying
Round One:
Tarek
Momen (Egy) bt Kamran Khan (Mas)
11/9,11/1,11/2 (26m)
Yasir Butt (Pak) bt Kashif Shuja (Nzl)
11/5,11/7,14/12 (40m)
Renan Lavigne (Fra)bt Mohd Nafzahizam Mohd Adnan (Mas)
11/4,11/9,11/4 (45m)
Aaron Frankcomb (Aus) bt Choong Kam Hing (Mas)
11/7,11/9,11/6 (39m)
Mohd Nafiizwan Mohd Adnan 12/10,6/11,6/11,11/8,11/7 (72m)
bt Elvinn Keo (Mas) 11/8,11/8,11/8 (35m)
Julien Balbo (Fra)bt Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)
11/5,11/6,11/3 (50m)
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Scott Arnold (Aus)
11/9,11/7,11/9 (43m)
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2005 Event
2006 Event
2007 Event
2008 Event |
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