Three-mendous! Ahn becomes first Korean player to claim triple crowns
Eun Chan Ahn claimed a notable place in squash history when she beat Hong Kong’s Tong Tsz-Wing in the final of the Women’s Malaysian Tour Squash Circuit 1 to become the first player from the Republic of Korea to win three Tour titles, writes HOWARD HARDING.
The 28-year-old from Incheon was making her first appearance on the WSA World Tour since November last year – and was seeded eight in the WSA Tour 5 event at the Neighbourhood Complex Precinct 11 in the city of Putrajaya, near the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
Ranked 78 in the world, Ahn made her breakthrough in the quarter-finals where she dismissed Australia’s top seed Lisa Camilleri, ranked more than 30 places higher.
After fighting back from 2/1 down to beat rising Egyptian star Farah Abdel Meguid in the semis, underdog Ahn lined up against third seed Tong, the world No52, for the title.
Ahn need just three games to see off her higher-ranked Hong Kong opponent 14-12, 11-8, 11-2 to claim her historic third Tour trophy.Insert introduction here (switch to HTML)
It was in May 2011 that Eun Chan Ahn recorded her maiden Tour title success, at the Black Knight Open in Australia, where she was the 15th seed. It was later in the year that she notched up title No2 at the Indian Summer Tournamentin the USA.
Ahn’s latest success takes her ahead of fellow WSA Tour-mate Song Sun-Mi, winner of two Tour titles.