World number one Nicol David of Malaysia.
Malaysia’s squash players have announced themselves as a threat to both men’s and women’s titles in Melbourne with comprehensive wins at the Asian Squash Championships.
Second seed Ong Beng Hee upstaged teammate and top seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar in the men’s final in Taipei to pick up his fourth consecutive individual title.
Beng Hee gained revenge for a loss to Azlan in the final of the Kuala Lumpur (KL) Open last week, winning the match 9-1, 9-4, 10-8 in 35 minutes.
“Azlan beat me in the final of the KL Open last week and he held the advantage,” Beng Hee told The Star. “But I played my best game in the championships and surprised him by winning in straight sets. He was not in the best of form and after I won the first set, I was confident that I would retain the title.”
And world champion Nicol David went one better on her record, picking up her fifth consecutive title when she defeated second seed Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong.
Ms David - who was the winner of the title in 1998 (Kuala Lumpur), 2000 (Hong Kong), 2002 (KL) and 2004 (KL) - defeated Chiu 9-7, 9-2, 9-4.
Malaysia have won both the individual titles but Beng Hee said that the team had yet to complete their mission in Taipei.
“We want to make a clean sweep by winning the team titles as well,” he said.
The women's team won the title at the last championships, but the men were defeated by Pakistan in the final and are expected to face them again this year.
Both Nicol David, the world’s number one women’s player, and Beng Hee, ranked 14 in the world, are expected in Melbourne where they will play in the Commonwealth Games Squash competition at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre from 16-21 March.
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