The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Elvinn dishes out a stunner, Nafiizwan through to next round of qualifier
- The dice falling Low’s way
- Joshna in seventh heaven after making main draw
| Elvinn dishes out a stunner, Nafiizwan through to next round of qualifier Posted: 26 Mar 2013 05:59 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Former national player Elvinn Keo made the most of his chances to score a stunning win over Hong Kong's Leo Au in the first qualifying round of the CIMB KL Open at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday. The 25-year-old Elvinn was dropped from the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia's (SRAM) elite programme last year due to a lack of progress. The Penangite, who is currently ranked 127th in the world, had to train on his own after being axed. But that did not stop Elvinn from dishing out one of his finest performances to beat world No. 40 Au 13-11, 3-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6. Elvinn, the 2007 SEA Games champion, had received a wildcard to compete in the qualifiers. It was only his second win against a top 50 player, after beating Czech Republic's Jan Koukal (now No. 55) last year. "It was definitely a tough match against Leo. I guess I got lucky but I'm happy to have won," said Elvinn. "I've known Leo for a while and he's actually a much better player. In fact, he was in the second round of the Kuwait Cup this year, which is a Super Series event ... that shows just how good he actually is. "I've already exceeded my own expectations ... hopefully, this win proves that I can still play at a high level." Elvinn's reward is a clash against compatriot Ivan Yuen in the second qualifying round. Ivan defeated South Korea's Seung Yong-yoo yoo 11-2, 11-8, 11-8. The last time the duo met, Elvinn threw away a two-set lead to lose in five sets in the semi-finals of the NSC Series No. 1 two weeks ago. Reigning Asian champion Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan was the third Malaysian through to the next round, but not before warding off a strong challenge by Sanjay Singh Chal. The 27-year-old Nafiizwan won 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 and will face India's Harinder Pal Sandhu next. |
| Posted: 26 Mar 2013 04:20 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: National No. 2 women's squash player Low Wee Wern's luck seems to be getting better and better. Wee Wern was initially drawn to meet Australia's world No. 17 Donna Urquhart in a tricky first round tie of the CMIB Kuala Lumpur Open today. But a redraw, following the left-handed Australian's late withdrawal, has now pit her against a relatively easier opponent in world No. 29 Lauren Briggs. "It was quite a stroke of good luck indeed as Donna would have been a tougher opponent," said Wee Wern. "But I'll still need to be on my toes as Lauren won't be a pushover." Still, the re-draw has been kind towards Wee Wern, who recently signed a core sponsorship deal with AirAsia. "My partnership with AirAsia simply could not have come at better time in my playing career. At 22 years old and ranked sixth in the world, this is just the beginning of my journey," said Wee Wern. "It's really an honour to be associated with AirAsia and I really want to thank them for supporting my dream. "I also want to thank my other sponsors – Harrow, Herbalife, Puma, Mizuno and Astro Arena – for their continued support and contributions. "And let's not forget the National Sports Council (NSC) for all their fundings. "With everything going my way lately, including the re-draw, I'm really looking forward to a good run now." The other Malaysian women in the main draw are world No. 1 and seven-time world champion Nicol David, and national No. 3 Delia Arnold. Meanwhile, Malaysia fared badly in the women's qualifying rounds when Siti Munirah, Rachel Arnold, Vaness Raj and Celine Yeap all crashed out. Zulhijjah Azan was the only one to win when she beat Hong Kong's Liu Tsz Ling 12-10, 4-11, 11-5, 3-11,11-7. National No. 4 Siti Munirah's poor run of form continued as she was pummelled 3-11, 6-11, 9-11 by South Africas' Siyoli Waters while 16-year-old Rachel, who made the final of the NSC Series No. 1 earlier this month, went down 6-11, 7-11, 5-11 to Czech Republic's Lucie Fialova. Fellow juniors Vanessa and Celine, both from Penang, were also comprehensively beaten by Scotland's Lisa Aitken and New Zealand's Kylie Lindsay respectively. |
| Joshna in seventh heaven after making main draw Posted: 26 Mar 2013 06:00 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: India's Joshna Chinappa (pic) was once tipped to be a potential world class player but an unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury two years ago has halted her progress. The lanky Chennai native, however, managed to hang in there and recover from an injury which could have ended her career prematurely. Now ranked a career high 27th in the world, the lanky Joshna is definitely enjoying a new lease of life and simply happy to be back in the thick of the action. She enjoyed a stellar season last year – since returning to action last April – winning the Chennai Open and Penang Open, and picking up impressive wins over world No. 10 Annie Au of Hong Kong and compatriot Dipika Pallikal. "When I was injured, all I wanted was to get back on court and play once more. That was probably the main reason I never gave up," said Joshna. "Deep down, I always knew that I'd make a comeback one day ... I just had to be remain fit and be patient. "Besides, after doing nothing but eating chocolates and watching television for the first four months of my injury, I knew I had to get back on the court once more." And the 26-year-old proved that she's slowly but surely getting back to her brilliant best with a good start in the CIMB KL Open, beating France's Coline Aumard 11-4, 11-1, 11-1 in the first qualifying round. "I thought my performance was quite good and I'm quite happy with the scoreline too," said Joshna. "It's also great to make the main draw for the first time in the KL Open because I really have great memories playing in Malaysia. "I've been coming here since I was 12 – for the Milo All Stars and Asian Juniors. I basically spent my entire childhood here. "So it's just great to come back here and play well and get a good result here because it really feels like home." While many who have been out of the game for a long time would not want to face the world's best, Joshna is just the opposite. "It would be really nice though to face Nicol (David) in the first round of the main draw because I really like to play against the world No. 1 in front of her own fans," she said. Nicol and Joshna met once last year – with the Indian player giving the Penangite a very uncomfortable time in the first round of the Malaysian Open. |
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