By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor) and JONATHAN SMITH (PSA) in Kuala Lumpur
No.2 seed Joel Makin meets home hero Eain Yow Ng in the second round of the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.
It will be their third PSA meeting in the past month, with Welsh ace Makin recording wins in the Grasshopper Cup in Zurich and last week’s Singapore Open.
The pair slugged it out in the Commonwealth Games in August, with Makin recording a 3-1 win on the way to a silver medal, and they also met last month in the England Squash Premier League, where Yow (playing for Alba Storm) squeezed home 11-9 in the fifth against Makin (St. George’s Hill).
Makin is among the top eight seeds entering the Malaysian Open tomorrow after Yow won his first round tie against the dangerous Leandro Romiglio from Argentina in straight games.
Last week Yow recorded a phenomenal win over world No.2 Paul Coll in the Singapore second round before losing to Makin in the quarter-finals.
England’s Patrick Rooney, seeded eight, also enters the fray against Egypt’s Mohamed ElSherbini, who beat compatriot Mazen Gamal in four games today.
Malaysian duo Ainaa Amani and Addeen Idrakie produced two of the shocks of the opening day as they beat much higher ranked opponents.
World No.106 Amani, a late addition to the tournament following an injury to Scotland’s Lisa Aitken, ensured that the hosts got off to the perfect start in the day’s opening match on the traditional courts as she came from behind to beat Egypt’s World No.38 Zeina Mickawy 3-2.
The Malaysian will face compatriot and defending champion Aifa Azman in the next round.
World No.83 Idrakie downed former world No.3 Omar Mosaad on the all-glass court to reach the second round of the Malaysian Open for the first time.
Idrakie showed no fear as he took on the ‘Hammer of Thor’ and triumphed 14-12, 11-5, 11-13, 11-7, with Mosaad saving four match balls before winning the third, only for Idrakie to regain control in the fourth to set up a second round match against German No.7 seed Raphael Kandra.
Another Malaysian through to the second round is Chan Yiwen, who beat compatriot and former world No.5 Low Wee Wern, who is returning from a lengthy spell out following knee surgery, in straight games.
Tomorrow’s second round sees the men’s top seed, the 2019 world champion Tarek Momen of Egypt, taking on compatriot Yahya Elnawasany, who beat Malaysia’s Mohammad Syafiq Kamal 3-0 today.
In the women’s draw, top seed Olivia Fiechter of the USA goes up against England’s Julianne Courtice, who breezed past Malaysia’s Ooi Kah Yan in 20 minutes.
Malaysian Open Squash Championships, Nicol David National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Men’s First Round:
Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) bt Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 (38m)
Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-1: 14-12, 11-5, 11-13, 11-7 (64m)
Moustafa El Sirty (EGY) bt [WC] Ong Sai Hung (MAS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (29m)
Ramit Tandon (IND) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-7 (30m)
Faraz Khan (USA) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8 (62m)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt Mazen Gamal (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-8 (4m)
Shahjahan Khan (USA) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-1: 10-12, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (53m)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Leandro Romiglio (ARG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (40m)
Men’s Second Round (Wednesday, November 23):
[1] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Yahya Elnawasany (EGY)
Addeen Idrakie (MAS) v [7] Raphael Kandra (GER)
[6] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v Moustafa El Sirty (EGY)
Ramit Tandon (IND) v [4] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
[3] Mazen Hesham (EGY) v Faraz Khan (USA)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) v [8] Patrick Rooney (ENG)
[5] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v Shahjahan Khan (USA)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) v [2] Joel Makin (WAL)
Women’s First Round:
Julianne Courtice (ENG) bt Ooi Kah Yan (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (20m)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt Alex Haydon (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 (21m)
Chan Yiwen (MAS) bt Low Wee Wern (MAS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 (28m)
Ineta Mackevica (LAT) bt Au Yeong Wai Yhann (SGP) 3-2: 12-10, 10-12, 4-11, 11-4, 11-6 (40m)
Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) bt Yee Xin Ying (MAS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 12-10 (33m)
Grace Gear (ENG) bt Cristina Gomez (ESP) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (21m)
Ainaa Amani (MAS) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-2: 12-10, 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6 (48m)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 13-11 (36m)
Women’s Second Round (Wednesday, November 23):
[1] Olivia Fiechter (USA) v Julianne Courtice (ENG)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) v [7] Alexandra Fuller (RSA)
[6] Melissa Alves (FRA) v Chan Yiwen (MAS)
Ineta Mackevica (LAT) v [3] Tesni Evans (WAL)
[4] Nadine Shahin (EGY) v Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY)
Grace Gear (ENG) v [8] Rachel Arnold (MAS)
[5] Aifa Azman (MAS) v Ainaa Amani (MAS)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) v [2] Nele Gilis (BEL)
Pictures courtesy of PSA World TourÂ