Karim Abdel Gawad (Photo PSA)
It was a clean sweep for both sets of top four seeds in both draws at the Hong Kong FC Open squash championships as they all made their way through to the semi-finals of the Silver event.
The men’s event saw No.2 seed Karim Gawad book his place in the final four after coming through a five-game clash with Malaysian Ng Eain Yow.
In contrast to his sometimes slow starts, the Egyptian took a commanding 2-0 lead, showcasing his front court quality and controlled proceedings. Eain Yow stormed back into the tie with an 12-10 victory in game three before converting the fourth 11-7 to force a fifth. Gawad managed to turn the tide back in his favour in the deciding game to win 11-8.
No.3 and 4 seeds Victor Crouin and Youssef Ibrahim both recovered from one game deficits to clinch their places in the semi-finals.
Crouin navigated his way through a quality contest with Aly Abou Eleinen in four games whilst Ibrahim defeated compatriot Fares Dessouky to earn his spot in the final four. Top seed Joel Makin wasted no time in advancing, beating Swiss Dimitri Steinmann in straight games.
The women’s quarter finals were relatively straight forward for the top four seeds.
Malaysian top seed Sivasangari Subramaniam needed just three games to see off compatriot Rachel Arnold. Arnold held two game balls in the third game to send the match into a third but the top seed rattled off four points in a row to seal the victory.
She’ll now face France’s Melissa Alves in the semis after the Frenchwoman ended the run of last remaining home hope, Chan Sin Yuk in straight games.
The remaining semi-finals were both injury affected as Aira Azman withdrew before the match started with Fayrouz Aboelkheir whilst Sana Ibrahim withdrew after falling 2-1 behind to Amanda Sobhy, sending the American through.
Results
Men’s Quarter Finals: [1] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-2 (45m); [3] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [6] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) 3-1: 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 (78m); [4] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt [8] Fares Dessouky (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6; [2] Karim Gawad (EGY) bt [7] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-2: 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 7-11, 11-8 (69m)
Women’s Quarter Finals: [1] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [6] Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 12-10 (29m); [4] Mélissa Alves (FRA) bt Sin Yuk Chan (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-1, 11-3 (24m); [3] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt [8] Aira Azman (MAS) 3-0: W/O; [2] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [5] Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 4-0 w/o
