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 Malaysian Nationals
2011
06-10 July, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur
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Nicol & Azlan defend titles in KL
The TC Malaysian Nationals Squash Championships came to its
exciting conclusion as Dato’ Nicol David and Azlan
Iskandar took home top honours here at the National
Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil today.
Nicol beat Delia Arnold 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 while Azlan
defeated his long-time rival and friend Ong Beng Hee 11-7,
11-5, 13-11 at the glass court of the Nicol David Arena.
 In
the Women’s Premier final, Nicol benefited from a number of
unforced errors from Delia to easily take the first game,
but Delia picked up the pace in the second and threatened to
spoil the world number one's party, leading 7-5 at a point.
She could not keep up the momentum, however, and allowed
Nicol to clinch the second game and breeze through the third
to pick up her second Malaysian Nationals title in a row.
"I'm really glad to win my second national title. Delia was
strong in the second set and it was important I didn’t let
her win as she would have carried the momentum through to
the next," said Nicol, who will kick off her campaign in the
Malaysian Open on July 20.
"Winning here is a good start to the season and I'm hungry
to play again and start strong in the Malaysian Open," added
the 28-year-old Penangite.
 It
was a similar story in the Men’s final, as Beng Hee failed
to find his form early in the game and allowed Azlan an easy
first two sets.
He mounted a strong comeback in the final set to take a 7-5
lead but Azlan fought back to force a deuce and eventually
finished off the game in straight sets to emerge the Men's
Premier champion once again.
"It's great to win here again. We grew up playing together
so it's always a challenge against Beng Hee. In the third
game, I thought I had it in the bag, but you never know
these things," said the 30-year-old.
"I think Beng Hee played well and I hope he has a good
season," added Azlan.
The winners in the Men's and Women's Premier categories took
home RM4,000 while winners in the other categories took home
RM300 along with their trophies.
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Finals Photo Gallery from Alex Wan |
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09-Jul, Semis:
Delia Arnold bt Low Wee Wern
11/8, 11/9, 11/6
Nicol David bt Siti Munirah Jusoh
11/7, 11/3, 117/
Azlan Iskandar bt Kamran Khan
11/4, 11/5, 11/3
Ong Beng Hee bt Nafiizwan Adnan
11/8, 11/7, 11/9
Delia defeats Wee Wern
 Delia
Arnold upset her more illustrious opponent Low Wee Wern
to set up a date with world number one Datuk Nicol David
in the women's final of the National Squash Championships at
the Bukit Jalil National Squash Centre here today.
Delia, ranked world number 23 and the third seed in the
tournament, beat Wee Wern who is ranked number 15 in the
world and seeded second, in straight games.
"This is my first tournament this year. I played really well
today and have improved a lot after a solid training stint
under Jamshed and Mubashir (Gul)," said Delia.
Defending champion, Nicol meanwhile, hardly wasted an time
on court to sweep past Siti Munirah Jusoh in less than 30
minutes.
"I am looking forward to the final tomorrow. Delia, she has
played really well today. I’m sure she is going to give her
all, but I’ll be ready," said Nicol after her match.
In the men's championship, defending champion Azlan
Iskandar will take on his national team-mate Ong Beng
Hee in the final as both marched past their respective
opponents.
Azlan, ranked number 10 in the world, disposed Kamran Khan
11-4, 11-5, 11-3 while Beng Hee was equally impressive by
edging Nafiizwan Adnan 11-8, 11-7, 11-9.
The finals will be held at the Nicol David Arena starting
4pm Sunday.
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Saturday's
semifinals will start at 3pm at the glass court of the Nicol
David Arena at the National Squash Centre.
The semifinals and finals will be broadcast live on Astro
Arena.
Entrance to watch the matches is free.
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08-Jul-11, Quarters:
Azlan Iskandar bt Aaron Soyza
11/0, 11/5, 11/0
Kamran Khan bt Asyraf Azan
11/9, 5/11, 15/13, 8/11, 11/8
Nafiizwan Adnan bt Ivan Yuen
9/11, 11/4, 11/2, 8/11, 11/4
Ong Beng Hee bt Choong Kam Hing
13/11, 11/4, 11/4
Nicol David bt Tan Yan Xin
11/4, 11/9, 11/13, 11/3
Siti Munirah Jusoh bt Sharon Wee
11/6, 9/11, 11/4, 7/11, 11/6
Delia Arnold bt Pushppa Devi
11/3, 11/8, 11/7
Low Wee Wern bt Zulhijah Azan
11/4, 11/4, 11/9
KAMRAN BATTLES THROUGH TO SEMIS
Fifth seed overcomes fourth seeded Asyraf Azan in a bad
tempered encounter as top seeds Nicol, Azlan, Beng Hee and
Wee Wern sail through ...
The quarterfinals of the TC Malaysian Nationals Squash
Championships saw some classic encounters as the crème de la
crème of Malaysian squash battled to stake their place in
the last four here at the National Squash Centre in Bukit
Jalil today.
In what was easily the most hard-fought match of the day,
rising star Kamran Khan kept his cool to emerge
victorious over his higher ranked opponent Asyraf Azan,
winning 11-9, 5-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-8 in a gruelling
two-hour encounter filled with disputes and drama.
“I knew he would come at me with a lot of distractions so
the key was to keep my cool and stick to the game plan,”
said the 21-year-old, adding that he had nothing to lose in
his semifinal match against national number one Azlan
Iskandar tomorrow and plans to give it his all.
Azlan, playing in his first competition since joining the
Malaysian army in March, breezed past former national player
turned coach Aaron Soyza in just 16 minutes, winning
11-0, 11-5, 11-0.
Second seed in the Men’s Premier division, Ong Beng Hee
had a similarly simple task to overcome 22-year-old
Choong Kam Hing 13-11, 11-4, 11-4, and will face
Nafiizwan Adnan in the other Men’s semifinal.
Nafiizwan, ranked 45th in the world, booked his spot after
coming from a game down in a hard-fought match against last
year’s semifinalist Ivan Yuen, winning 9-11, 11-4,
11-3, 8-11, 11-4 in 74 minutes.
 Nafiizwan,
who beat Beng Hee to win the Asian Championships in April,
was upbeat about his chances tomorrow.
“I’m happy with my performance today as I was in control in
the second and third games. Tomorrow is a big game but I
know Beng Hee’s game well as we have been training together
for 3 years and the key will be to stay calm and in control
throughout,” said the 25-year-old.
Nicol's hiccup
 In
the Women’s Premier division, Dato’ Nicol David had a
slight hiccup in the third set, but nevertheless had a
simple task in disposing off 18-year-old Tan Yan Xin
11-4, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3.
“She has improved tremendously and played a number of great
shots in the third match,” said the Penangite, who has been
ranked number one in the world for the past five years.
Nicol will face fourth seed Siti Munirah Jusoh in a
repeat of last years semifinals, after the latter defeated
former national number two and current Malaysian navy squash
coach Sharon Wee in a five game thriller, winning
11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6.
In the other Women’s Premier quarterfinals, Delia Arnold
beat Pushppa Devi 11-3, 11-8, 11-7 while Low Wee
Wern defeated Zulhijah Azan 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 to
set up their mouth-watering semifinal.
 Low
has seen her ranking and game improve massively in the last
year and is seeded second, while Arnold is seeded third but
may hold the upper hand in face-to-face encounters between
the two.
“I haven’t played Delia in over a year but I remember the
last time we played, it was a very close match that Delia
won. I will have to be focused and at my best tomorrow,”
said the 20-year-old Georgetown native.
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07-Jul-11, Round One:
Breeze for top seeds in KL
The TC Malaysian Nationals Squash Championships moved into
its second day as all the country’s top wall-bashers came
out to play here at the National Squash Centre in Bukit
Jalil today.
 World
number one Dato’ Nicol David broke little sweat in
her opening match against Penang junior Lim Jee Nee as she
defeated the 15-year-old in straight sets 11-2, 11-7, 11-8.
“I’ve known Jee Nee from the Penang academy since she was a
little girl and she has developed into a great squash
player. As the game progressed, she started covering the
angles really well and she was even leading in the third
set. She can really go far,” said the 27-year-old Nicol of
her opponent.
Second seed and world No.15 Low Wee Wern made little
work of her 14-year-old opponent, winning 11-2, 11-2, 11-4
to move into the quarters.
Following suit was world No.20 Delia Arnold, who had
a similarly straightforward 11-2, 11-4, 11-4 win over junior
Nur Diana Binti Laili, while last year’s semi-finalist Siti
Munirah Jusoh also won as expected, defeating a determined
Teh Min Jie 11-6, 11-5, 12-10.
Fifteen-year-old Rachel Arnold, sister to Delia, may have
won the Under-19 category in the National Junior Circuit
Grand Finals last weekend, but was unable to keep up her
good form as she went down to Pushppa Devi Paramesewa
in an exciting game that finished 11-4, 16-14, 11-13, 14-12.
Thirty-three year old Sharon Wee, although retired
from professional squash last year, was nevertheless able to
defeat her much younger opponent Low Wee Nee 11-9, 13-15,
11-5, 9-11, 11-8 in the hardest fought match of the day.
Nicol will face Tan Yan Xin in tomorrow evening’s
quarter final, while Wee Wern meets Zulhijjah Azan.
Delia will play Pushppa Devi and rounding up the
quarterfinals will be the surprise tie between Siti
Munirah and Sharon Wee.
Men's seeds sail through
Top seeds Azlan Iskandar and Ong Beng Hee
received byes in their first round matches, but the rest of
the top men’s category started their campaign today.
Third seed and world No. 45 Nafiizwan Adnan beat
junior Sanjay Singh Chal 11-6, 11-6, 12-10. Nafiizwan will
next face sixth seed Ivan Yuen, who took victory over
another junior Affeeq Abedeen 11-6, 11-2, 11-7.
 Fourth
seeded Asyraf Azan defeated junior Muhammad Zul Azri
Abdul Aziz 11-5, 2-11, 11-7, 11-8, while world No. 78,
Kamran Khan, who has enjoyed good form this year, easily
defeated 17-year-old Mohammad Addeen Idrakie 11-3, 11-9,
11-9.
Kamran, no doubt fuelled by the wild card he received for
the Malaysian Open later this month, faces Azan in what will
be the pick of the Men’s quarterfinals.
In the other quarterfinal matches, Aaron Soyza, who
defeated Marcus Yuen 11-9, 12-10, 11-9, will have his work
cut out for him when he takes on defending champion Iskandar
while Ong will kick off his campaign against Choong Kam
Hing, who beat Nafzahizam Adnan 4-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-7
in Round 1.
Other Round 2 matches in the Men’s and Women’s Division 2,
Men’s Division 3 and Men’s Veteran categories also took
place at the National Squash Centre today, with the action
ongoing until 9.00pm.
The action is set to heat up tomorrow as all categories move
into the quarterfinal stages. The semifinals and finals of
each of the divisions will be held on Saturday and Sunday
respectively, at the glass court located in the Nicol David
Arena.
The semifinals and finals of the tournament will be
broadcasted live on Astro Arena. Entrance to watch the
matches at the National Squash Centre is free of charge.
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Men's Premier Round
One |
Azlan Iskandar v bye
Aaron Soyza bt Marcus Yuen
11/9, 12/10, 11/9
Kamran Khan bt Mohd Addeen Idrakie
11/3, 11/9, 11/9
Muhd Asyraf Azan bt Muhammad Abdul Aziz 11/5,
2/11, 11/7, 11/8
Nafiizwan Adnan bt Sanjay Singh Chai
11/6, 11/6, 12/10
Ivan Yuen bt Affeeq Abedeen
11/6, 11/2, 11/7
Choong Kam Hing bt
Nafzahizam Adnan
4/11, 11/5, 11/9, 11/7
Ong Beng Hee v bye
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Women's Premier Round
One |
Nicol David bt Lim Jee Nee
11/2, 11/7, 11/8
Tan Yan Xin bt Nessrine Ariffin
12/10, 11/6, 11/4
Sharon Wee bt Low Wee Nee
11/9, 13/15, 11/5, 9/11, 11/8
Siti Munirah Jusoh bt Teh Min Jie
11/6, 11/5, 12/10
Delia Arnold bt Nur Diana Binti Laili
11/2, 11/4, 11/4
Pushppa Devi bt Rachel Arnold
11/4, 16/14, 11/13, 14/12
Zulhijah Azan bt Jadeleen Lee
11/8, 11/7, 11/0
Low Wee Wern bt Aika Binti Azman
11/2, 11/2, 11/4
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Qtrs Fri, Semis Sat, 16.00-19.00; Finals from
13.00 Sun |
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2010 Nationals
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Full Draws
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