Malaysian World No.18 Ng Eain Yow put last week’s disappointing performances at last week’s Budapest Open behind him with a convincing victory over Englishman Patrick Rooney as men’s action got under way at the London Squash Classic in Coolhurst.
The 28-year-old suffered a quarter-final exit to Velavan Senthilkumar in Hungary despite being seeded at No.1, but he looks to have put that setback behind him after a storming 11-3, 11-2 win against Rooney in their best-of-three tie.
“I had to bounce back this week, but I’m happy with how I did after last week’s disappointment. I went in with a clear purpose and was aggressive from the get go.
“I’ve put in so much work and I know what needs to be done, I have to trust that I can get on court and execute what I can. Ranking-wise, I’m trying to get closer to the top 10 guys again, but there is so much quality in the top 25 these days.
“I’m focused on trying to improve my squash and bring myself back to where I know I can play.”
Meanwhile, the English duo Sam Todd and Jasmine Hutton got off to winning starts after contrasting matches at the first Gold-level tournament of the PSA Squash Tour season.
Both players were runners up at the British National Squash Championships in Weybridge last week and they maintained their form coming into day one in London, with Todd coming back from a game down to defeat Egypt’s Moustafa Elsirty 2-11, 11-7, 11-4.
“I felt a little bit flat in the first game and he came out firing,” said Todd afterwards.
“I wasn’t reading the ball well and I was leaving it in the middle. I had to regroup and get some hard rallies into him. Once I got him moving, I was more confident with my length as the match went on.
“I was pleased [with his Nationals performances] until the final, but I didn’t perform my best in the final. I was still getting over that, but I had to put it out of my head coming into this tournament. I wish the Nationals wasn’t so close to this tournament, but getting some competitive matches in before my first PSA tournament is a massive thing. I’m back into the routines of tournaments and I’m ready for the season ahead.”
Todd will play defending champion Paul Coll in the last 16, while Hutton will go up against the women’s defending champion Amina Orfi after a confident 11-5, 11-6 win over Hana Ramadan.
The World No.12 said: “I was mentally switched on, there isn’t that much physicality in best of three, it’s more of a mental game. For me, I had to focus in every rally so she didn’t sneak any quick points.
“It was really good to have the Nationals before this. It’s a big event, it’s not quite PSA, but it’s nice to get that first tournament under my belt so I didn’t feel as edgy. I’ll be expecting a really tough match [against Orfi]. I’m expecting her to bring some serious quality, but I’m excited for the challenge.”
India’s 18-year-old star Anahat Singh also progressed courtesy of a comfortable 2-0 win over Mariam Metwally, while on the men’s side Colombian veteran Miguel Rodriguez overturned a deficit to defeat Muhammad Ashab Irfan.
Results
Men’s First Round
Sam Todd (ENG) bt Moustafa Elsirty (EGY) 2-1: 2-11, 11-7, 11-4 (41m)
Ramit Tandon (IND) bt Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) 2-0: 11-6, 11-7 (20m)
Noor Zaman (PAK) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 2-0: 11-3, 11-7 (16m)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 2-0: 11-3, 11-2 (16m)
Declan James (ENG) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 2-0: 11-7, 11-2 (38m)
Kareem El Torkey (EGY) bt Matias Knudsen (COL) 2-1: 8-11, 11-3, 11-6 (40m)
Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) 2-1: 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 (48m)
Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt Veer Chotrani (IND) 2-0: 11-9, 11-9 (29m)
Women’s First Round
Aira Azman (MAS) bt Nour Heikal (EGY) 2-1: 5-11, 11-4, 11-6 (26m)
Salma Hany (EGY) bt Katie Malliff (ENG) 2-0: 11-7, 11-5 (21m)
Sana Ibrahim (EGY) bt Rachel Arnold (MAS) 2-1: 11-7, 9-11, 11-6 (40m)
Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 2-1: 12-10, 6-11, 11-3 (27m)
Nardine Garas (EGY) bt Aifa Azman (MAS) 2-0: 11-9, 11-7 (28m)
Anahat Singh (IND) bt Mariam Metwally (EGY) 2-0: 11-3, 11-2 (11m)
Sin Yuk Chan (HKG) bt Nadien Elhammamy (EGY) 2-1: 11-8, 7-11, 11-4 (28m)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt Hana Ramadan (EGY) 2-0: 11-5, 11-6 (19m)
