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21-Mar, Finals:
Kitchen and Mehboob win KL thrillers
Both
finals went the full distance at the National Squash Centre in Kuala
Lumpur, with two unexpected results.
In the men's final Pakistan teenager Waqar Mehboob completed
his amazing run from qualifying through to the title with a
five-game win over the hosts' second seed Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan,
coming from 2/1 down to prevail in just under the hour.
Having competed in all four NSC events of 2009, Mehboob has
progressed each time, from quarter-finalist (#1), semi-finalist
(#2), runner-up (#3) and now champion!
The
women's final saw an even better comeback as New Zealand's second
seed Shelley Kitchen came from two games down against top
seed Vanessa Atkinson. It wasn't a straightforward comeback though,
as the next three games all went to extra points, the Kiwi finally
clinching the title 13/11 in the fifth after just over an hour's
play.
The win completes a hat-trick of NSC title for Kitchen, having
already claimed the #1 and #2 events in February, and a 15th career
title.
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NSC
Series #4 2009
16-21 Mar, Kuala Lumpur, $16k |
Round One
18 Mar |
Quarters
19 Mar |
Semis
20 Mar |
Final
21 Mar |
[1]
Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)
11/3,11/8,8/11,11/6 (45m)
[Q] Lauren Siddall (Eng) |
[1] Vanessa Atkinson
11/9, 11/8, 6/11, 11/4 (37m)
[7]
Donna Urquhart |
[1] Vanessa Atkinson
11/4, 11/1, 11/7 (29m)
[3] Tania Bailey |
[1] Vanessa Atkinson
8/11, 2/11, 13/11, 14/12, 13/11 (63m)
[2] Shelley Kitchen |
[7]
Donna Urquhart (Aus)
6/11,7/11,11/9,11/8,11/5 (56m)
Alana Miller (Can) |
[3]
Tania Bailey (Eng)
11/5,11/1,11/9 (25m)
Low Wee Wern (Mas) |
[3] Tania Bailey
12/10, 11/4, 11/4 (31m)
[5] Delia Arnold |
[5]
Delia Arnold (Mas)
15/13,11/7,16/18,11/6 (67m)
Lisa Camilleri (Aus) |
Sitih Munirah Jusoh (Mas)
10/12,11/2,11/4,11/6 (39m)
[6] Sarah Kippax (Eng) |
[6] Sarah Kippax
11/7, 11/3, 11/7 (36m)
[4] Dominique Lloyd-Walter |
[4] Dominique Lloyd-Walter
11/7, 11/8, 11/8 (39m)
[2] Shelley Kitchen |
[Q] Lim Woke Yah (Mas)
11/5,8/11,11/7,11/7 (47m)
[4] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng) |
[Q] Joey Chan (Hkg)
11/5,11/6,11/7 (26m)
[8] Aisling Blake (Irl) |
[8] Aisling Blake
11/5, 11/7, 11/3 (36m)
[2] Shelley Kitchen |
[Q] Joelle King (Nzl)
11/4,11/6,11/7 (28m)
[2] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl) |
Qualifying:
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NSC
Series #4 2009
16-21 Mar, Kuala Lumpur, $10k |
Round One
18 Mar |
Quarters
19 Mar |
Semis
20 Mar |
Final
21 Mar |
[1]
Renan Lavigne (Fra)
11/8,11/9,11/4 (27m)
[Q] Elvinn Keo (Mas)r |
[1] Renan Lavigne
10/12, 11/5, 11/8, 13/11 (60m)
[Q] Waqar Mehboob |
[Q] Waqar Mehboob
11/8, 14/12, 6/11, 4/11, 11/9 (77m)
Clinton Leeuw |
[Q] Waqar Mehboob
6/11, 11/9, 6/11, 11/7, 12/10 (56m)
[2] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan |
[5]
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)
8/11,11/8,11/9,11/9 (49m)
[Q] Waqar Mehboob (Pak) |
[3]
Shahid Zaman (Pak)
11/5,11/4,11/4 (16m)
Clinton Leeuw (Rsa) |
Clinton Leeuw
11/9, 11/5, 7/11, 8/11, 12/10 (50m)
[7]
Shamsul Islam Khan |
[7]
Shamsul Islam Khan (Pak)
11/9,11/8,3/11,11/9 (25m)
Nafzahizam Adnan (Mas) |
[Q] Ivan Yuen (Mas)
6/11,11/7,11/9,11/6 (39m)
[8] Matthew Karwalski (Aus) |
[Q] Ivan Yuen
6/11, 12/10, 11/13, 11/9, 11/5 (96m)
[4] Ryan Cuskelly |
[Q] Ivan Yuen
11/4, 11/4, 7/11, 11/8 (57m)
[2] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan |
[Q] Aqif Hanif (Pak)
15/13,11/6,11/8 (39m)
[4] Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) |
Zac Alexander (Aus)
13/11,15/13,9/11,11/6 (58m)
[6] Muhd Asyraf Azan (Mas) |
Zac Alexander
11/8, 11/6, 11/13, 11/6 (40m)
[2] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan |
Kamran Khan (Mas)
11/13,7/11,13/11,11/3,11/3 (64m)
[2] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) |
Qualifying:
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20-Mar, Semis:
Mehboob Makes NSC Final In KL
After another marathon encounter Pakistan qualifier Waqar Mehboob
has now reached the final after beating South African Clinton Leeuw
in the semi-finals at the Bukit Jalil National Squash Centre
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The 17-year-old from Peshawar made his breakthrough in the
quarter-finals where he beat top seed Renan Lavigne. Mehboob battled
for 77 minutes to record his victory over 26-year-old Leeuw, from
Cape Town.
Now in his second Tour final in Kuala Lumpur in a week, the
promising Pakistani will face local star Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan after
the second seed from KL beat up-and-coming compatriot Ivan Yuen, an
18-year-old qualifier.
Adnan will be making his 10th PSA Tour final appearance – but his
first for almost a year.
Action in the women's event continued to progress according to the
seedings: Former world champion Vanessa Atkinson secured her
expected place in the final with a surprisingly straightforward win
over England's Tania Bailey, the third seed, in 29 minutes.
The Dutch favourite, now in the 36th Tour final of her career, will
face second seed Shelley Kitchen. The Auckland-based New Zealander
despatched England's Dominique Lloyd-Walter, the fourth seed, to
notch up her 22nd WISPA final appearance, the third in KL this year.
19-Mar, Quarters:
Men's seeds decimated again
If the first round was a bad day for the men's seeds in Kuala
Lumpur, the quarter-finals was even worse, with only one seeded
player left in contention.
Pakistan qualifier Waqar Mehboob removed top seed Renan
Lavigne, while South African Clinton Leeuw also claimed his
second seeded scalp as he overcame Shamsul Islam Khan.
The other semi-final will be an all-Malaysian affair after Ivan
Yuen claimed his second seeded Australian opponent, downing Ryan
Cuskelly in a 96-minute marathon. He will face Nafiizwan Adnan,
the second seed, for a place in the final.
No such trouble in the women's event as the top four seeds all came
safely through to the semis ...
18-Mar, Round One:
Seeds Slump In KL Championships
Half of the men's seeds failed to make the last eight of the NSC
Series No4 Squash Championships after being beaten by lower-ranked
players in the first round at the Bukit Jalil National Squash Centre
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Shahid Zaman was the highest seed to fall. The third seed from
Pakistan was beaten 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 in just 16 minutes by unseeded
South African Clinton Leeuw.
But there was unexpected Pakistani success at the top of the draw
where 17-year-old qualifier Waqar Mehboob recovered from a game
behind to upset fifth-seeded Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet 8-11, 11-8,
11-9, 11-9. The Peshawar teenager will now face favourite Renan
Lavigne, the world No32 from France who despatched local player
Elvinn Keo, a qualifier, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4.
Second seed Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan leads local interest in the men's
event. But the 22-year-old from KL needed 64 minutes to overcome
19-year-old compatriot Kamran Khan, ranked more than 70 places lower
in the world, 11-13, 7-11, 13-11, 11-3, 11-3.
In contrast to the men's event, all eight women's seeds sauntered
through to the quarter-finals – with local player Delia Arnold
taking the longest route. The KL-born 23-year-old took 67 minutes to
get past Australian Lisa Camilleri 15-13, 11-7, 16-18, 11-6.
Former world champion Vanessa Atkinson, from the Netherlands, is
favourite. The UK-based 33-year-old defeated Pontefract club-mate
Lauren Siddall, a qualifier, 11-3, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6 and will now
take on Australian Donna Urquhart for a place in the last four.
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