The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Asyraf goes the distance to overcome Ivan and book a final ticket
- Arfy ends drought
- Tired Lee crumbles
| Asyraf goes the distance to overcome Ivan and book a final ticket Posted: 17 Dec 2011 03:22 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: National number four Mohd Asyraf Azan needed five gruelling sets to end the fine run of team-mate Ivan Yuen and enter the final of the Crocodile Challenge Cup squash championships in Hong Kong yesterday. World No. 70 Asyraf took 101 minutes to prevail 12-10, 7-11, 9-11, 11-4, 10-6 after Ivan retired with cramps while facing a match point in the fifth set. The third-seeded Asyraf had earlier defeated Ravi Dixit of India 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 in the first round and Kuwait's Bader Al Hussaini 5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 in the quarter-finals. Asyraf will face defending champion and top seed Max Lee in the final. Max needed just 28 minutes to down fourth seed Dick Lau 11-0, 11-3, 11-7 in the semi-finals. The 20-year-old Ivan, however, can take consolation from scoring his second biggest career win when he stunned world No. 63 and second seed Matthew Karwalski of Australia 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-5 in the quarter-finals on Friday. Ivan had, however, slogged for 80 minutes before ousting local player Leo Au 11-6, 12-10, 6-11, 14-12 in the first round. The strain of being on the court for more than 240 minutes over three days took its toll on Ivan, who was unable to complete the five-set marathon against Asyraf. Ivan, who scored his biggest win by stunning world No. 59 Campbell Grayson of New Zealand to qualify for the main draw of the Australian Open in August, was clearly disappointed at failing to beat Asyraf yesterday. "I did well to upset Karwalski in the quarter-final but I did not play well against Asyraf in the fourth and fifth sets. The two tough matches in the first two days took their toll on me," said Ivan. Asyraf was clearly relieved to have defeated Ivan to reach the final. "Our matches have always been very close and it's always tough to beat Ivan, who is fit and goes for every ball. I hope to win my first tournament this year," said Asyraf. Malaysia's Elvinn Keo was also bundled out in the quarter-finals after losing 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 to Dick Lau in 37 minutes. Malaysia's challenge in the women's competition also came to an end when Siti Munirah Jusoh was outplayed 5-11, 6-11, 11-11 in just 21 minutes by third seed Dipika Pallikal of India in the quarter-finals. Dipika then upset second seed Sarah Kippax of England 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 to set up a final date with fourth seed Joey Chan. Joey stunned top seed Donna Urquhart of Australia 11-6, 12-10, 11-9 in the other semi-final. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 17 Dec 2011 05:56 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: Reigning Asian junior champion Mohd Arfy Qhairant Amran delivered Malaysia's first gold medal in the Track Asia Cup cycling championships at the Cheras Velodrome yesterday. Arfy was in dominant form, defeating Hong Kong's Lok Chun Wu 2-0 in the sprint final. "It was tough as the Hong Kong rider has a lot of power and I'm not really at my peak yet," said Arfy. "But I felt better compared to when I won the 1km time trial bronze on Friday. I'm glad I nailed the gold medal." Aboulfazi Zarezadehmehrizi of Iran beat Thailand's Worayut Kapunya for the bronze. Malaysia's Sofian Nabil Omar Bakri grabbed the silver medal in the men's junior point race despite having a fever. The race was won by Hong Kong's Chun Wing Leung while Ruslan Feddrovof Uzbekistan settled for the bronze. Hamdan Hamidun delivered Malaysia's third bronze medal clocking 3:48.194 in the junior 3km individual pursuit. Chun Wing Leung of Hong Kong won the gold medal in 3:40.182 while Ruslan Feddrov of Uzbekistan took the silver in 3:42.490. Malaysian senior sprinters were outclassed yesterday with Mohd Fattah Amri Zaid the best finisher in fifth place and Ju Pha Somnet seventh. Junior sprinter Lauretta Eva Adrian finished fourth in her race. The men's sprint team still have a chance to nick the gold medal today in their match against hot favourites Iran. Fattah, his brother Mohd Farhan and Mohd Fakhruddin Daud were second fastest in 1:06.012. The Iranian trio of Mahmoud Parash, Mahmoud Rasouli and Ali Askari stopped the clock in 1:03.929 while Hong Kong were third fastest in 1:06.193. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 17 Dec 2011 05:57 PM PST THE mind was willing but the body wasn't. World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei's tired and weary limbs failed him when he needed them most yesterday. The exhausted Chong Wei surrendered his Super Series Masters Finals crown, going down 16-21, 21-16, 18-21 to China's Chen Long in a nerve-wracking one hour and 16-minute semi-final clash. The defeat by the youngster at the Li Ning Gymnasium ended 29-year-old Chong Wei's dream of ending the season on a high with his fourth Masters Finals title. It was also his third loss this year to the 22-year-old Chen Long, who is fast developing into a real threat to compatriot Lin Dan whom he will meet in today's final. Lin Dan had a much easier time in his semi-final, coasting past Denmark's Peter-Gade Christensen 21-12, 21-15. Chen Long was a fireball of energy yesterday, lunging at every shot to break Chong Wei's resolve. By the time the score stood at 14-14 in the opening game, Chong Wei was already panting. Chen Long took the opener 21-16 and continued with his relentless assault in the second but Chong Wei dug deep into his reserves to force the decider. The China No. 2 came back stronger and looked unstoppable as he raced to a 10-5 lead. Chong Wei, however, fought back to stay in the game and drew level at 18-18. For one fleeting moment it looked like Chong Wei could pull it off, but Chen Long stayed rock solid to score three successive points to take the match. "I tried to push myself in my last tournament of the year but I found it hard to focus against Chen Long," said a dejected Chong Wei, who was competing in his 15th tournament of the season. "I tried to mix it up with different strokes and even reduced my attacking game to break the momentum, but Chen Long was ready for all my shots. He made fewer mistakes today. "Chen Long is young and has become a powerful and confident player. He is the future of the game. "It has been quite a stressful end to the season. I competed in too many tournaments to secure my rankings for the Olympic Games and that has taken its toll on me. "Overall, though, it has been a great year. I have won seven titles, made 11 finals and three semi-finals. "I have never lost in the early rounds. I'm happy with my consistency. This has been the best season of my career." Chong Wei, the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) Male Player of the Year, has vowed to come back fresh for next year's challenge – with the London Olympics being his main target. "I need a good rest now ... then it's back to business. I will go to the Korean Open (Jan 3-8) as the runner-up and the Malaysian Open (Jan 11-15) as the defending champion. I must maintain these positions," he said. Chen Long, who threw his racquet in sheer joy after beating Chong Wei, was modest in victory. "Chong Wei has been the world No. 1 since 2008 and this is only my third big win against him. I don't consider myself a strong threat to him yet," said Chen Long. "He's not in the best of shape, but I honestly thought he would win after he levelled the rubber at 18-18. "I figured he had more experience to deal with the situation but he made some bad mistakes and I'm lucky I won." Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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