SuperMax beats Saurav Ghosal to retain Hong Kong title
By NATHAN CLARKE
Hong Kong’s Max Lee, the World No.17, delighted the capacity crowd in the final of the 2015 PSA HKFC International 25 tournament to retain the title he won in 2014 with an impressive display against top ranked Indian Saurav Ghosal in the finale.
Both players came into the final off the back of dominant semi-final triumphs but, despite losing a tense opening game 11-9, it was the home-town man Lee who prevailed to pick up his first PSA World Tour title since winning the Victorian Open 12 months ago.
“I focused on playing each shot well tonight because I was not that confident in winning this match despite being seed one,” said Lee.
“I am very pleased that this Hong Kong Football Club tournament is becoming bigger and better every year, attracting better players and this year’s opposition was very strong.
“Today I played steadily and I waited for the chance to attack. I am probably not as fit as Saurav so I needed to find ways of winning my games and I’m really happy that I managed to do that.”
Result – Final:
[1] Max Lee (HKG) bt [2] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-9 (70m)
SuperMax mauls Meguid in three as Saurav sinks LJ Anjema
Defending champion and local favourite Max Lee stormed past Egyptian Omar Abdel Meguid 3-0 in just 30 minutes to book his place in the final of the 2015 PSA HKFC International 25 tournament.
The World No.17 put on a superb display as he outclassed the powerful Egyptian from the opening exchanges, dominating in all areas of the court, to ensure that his hopes of winning back-to-back titles in his home city of Hong Kong remain intact.
Lee will now take on India’s top ranked player Saurav Ghosal in the title-decider after the World No.21 saw off Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema courtesy of a comfortable 3-0 win.
“I tried to surprise him from the start and he made quite a few errors so I tried to keep it simple,” said Lee after his win.
“I’m happy to get the win and as for the final, I have played against Suarav quite a few times before and have always enjoyed playing him.
“The last time we played I lost 3-2 to him so I hope to beat him this time.”
Result – Semi-finals:
[1] Max Lee (HKG) bt [3] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-5 (30m)
[2] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [4] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-9 (38m)
Quarter-Finals: Lee rocks Richards in rollercoaster clash
Local favourite and number one seed Max Lee moved a step closer to retaining the PSA HKFC International 25 tournament in his home city of Hong Kong courtesy of a hard-fought 3-2 win over England’s Tom Richards in the quarter-finals.
The 27-year-old found himself a game down to a spirited Richards early on in the match but transformed the encounter with a thunderous showing in the second game, taking it without the loss of a single point, to knock the wind from Richards and lay the foundations for an impressive win that sees him into the last four to face Egyptian Omar Abdel Meguid.
“I have been feeling good throughout the tournament so far,” said Lee. “I’ve been hitting well and playing solid and I’m looking forward to the semi-finals now.”
Meguid made sure of his semi-finals berth with a dominant 3-0 win over Australian Rex Hedrick while the bottom half of the draw will see India’s highest ranked player Saurav Ghosal take on Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema.
Ghosal came through comfortably against Nafiizwan Adnan of Malaysian, winning 3-0, while Anjema was forced to produce some of his best to end the hopes of Hong Kong’s number two Leo Au, eventually seeing out the match 3-1.
HKFC International 25, Hong Kong.
Results – Quarter-finals:
[1] Max Lee (HKG) bt [6] Tom Richards (ENG) 3-2: 6-11, 11-0, 15-13, 16-18, 11-5 (71m)
[3] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt Rex Hedrick (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (45m)
[4] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [5] Leo Au (HKG) 3-1: 11-8, 15-13, 7-11, 11-9 (68m)
[2] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [7] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 (41m)
Draw – Semi-finals:
[1] Max Lee (HKG) v [3] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)
[4] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v [2] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
Picture courtesy of PSA