KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — The Ohana Malaysia Open will have an all-Malaysian men’s singles semifinal when Ng Eain Yow meets national No. 2 Ivan Yuen Chee Wern at Bukit Jalil squash centre today.
In yesterday’s quarterfinals, Eain Yow, the 2016 World Junior Champion, overcame sixth seed Mazen Gamal of Egypt 13-11, 3-11, 11-6, 11-1 while Ivan the second seed beat compatriot Sanjay Singh Chal 12-10, 11-5, 11-3.
“Sanjay told me before the tournament he will meet me in the quarters and he really did it,” recalled Ivan.
“I wasn’t surprised as I know he’s a good player. It’s been a while since he had a good run and I’m glad I managed to control him today.
“The draw may be open for a Malaysian to get the title as the top two seeds are out. However, in squash anything can happen at anytime. I’ll enjoy the game tomorrow. No pressure,” said the 27-year-old.
Kuala Lumpur-born Eain Yow had a tumultuous match against Mazen. He was either barging into Yow or restricting his movements towards the ball which earned the Egyptian several warnings from the umpire.
Credit to Eain Yow as he held his nerve after dripping the second set, finally prevailing due to superior fitness as Mazen ran out of steam in the fourth set.
“My legs were getting heavy in the second game as I felt the effects of my tough match against Addeen (Idrakie) the day before,” said Eain Yow.
“My coach (Andrew Cross) said remember my training and go back in and make it really hard for Mazen to earn points. Six all in the third game, one rally killed him off and he couldn’t recover in the fourth.
“I’m really happy we have an all-Malaysian semifinal.”
Meanwhile S. Sivasangari became the sole Malaysian representative in the women’s competition after second seed Rachel Arnold lost 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 to Satomi Watanabe of Japan who trains under Aaron Soyza in Penang.
Sivasangari barely lifted a finger as she demolished Aifa Azman 11-9, 11-4, 11-3 and will meet the Japanese in today’s semifinals.
“I played her (Satomi) at the SSJM (National Squash Circuit) recently it was quite close. I needed four games to win,” said the 18-year-old.
“She’ll be in high spirits and I can’t take it easy. I’m playing at home, so it’s my advantage. But I can’t take things for granted. Despite me being the only Malaysian in the draw, I don’t want to think about titles yet. I’ll take it a game at a time.”
Men’s semifinals
Ivan Yuen Chee Wern vs Ng Eain Yow
Leo Au (Hkg) vs Mazen Hesham (Egy)
Women’s semifinals
S. Sivasangari vs Satomi Watanabe (Jpn)
Zeina Mickawy (Egy) vs Milnay Louw (S. Africa)
