Tuanku Muhriz Trophy QF: Jeeva Downs Top Seed To Make Semis

A day on from seeing the women’s top seed being knocked out of the compeittion, the shocks and surprises continued at the Tuanku Muhriz Trophy on Thursday, with the men’s top seed bowing out at the quarter final stage.

Malaysia’s Sanjay Jeeva caused the major upset of the third day’s play in Negeri Sembilan, getting the better of the tournament’s top seed, Pakistan’s Tayyab Aslam, in a five-game battle that lasted almost 90 minutes.

The pair were in action in the first men’s match of the day on Court 1, and it was Aslam, the World No.49, who took the early lead by winning the first game 11-7. The Pakistani then led again after winning the third game on a tie-break 15-13, but from there, Jeeva was able to control the match. He won the fourth 11-7 to level the match, before the Malaysian then also took the deciding game by the same scoreline to make his way into the last four of the competition.

Jeeva will now face the unseeded Abhay Singh, after the Indian also caused an upset in the quarter finals, beating No.4 seed Mohammad Syafiq Kamal. He dropped the first game 11-9, but fought back to win the next three, two on tie-breaks, to advance to the semi-finals in Negeri Sembilan. The other men’s semi-final will see Pakistan’s Amaad Fareed take on No.2 seed Ivan Yuen.

Meanwhile in the women’s event, there will be an unseeded player in the final, as both Aira Azman and Ainaa Amani made their way into the last four. Amani got the better of the No.4 seed Nardine Garas in four games, while Azman downed Egypt’s Nour Heikal in a five-game battle to make her way into the semis.

The bottom half of the draw sees No.2 seed Salma Eltayeb and No.3 seed Malak Khafagy face off in tomorrow’s line-up, with the Egyptian duo both coming through their last eight matches. Eltayeb downed Malaysia’s Yee Xin Yang in straight games, while Khafagy got the better of Yasshmita Jadishkumar.

The semi-finals of the Tuanku Muhriz Trophy will take place on Friday, July 1 at the Royal Seri Menanti Golf & Country Club in Negeri Semiblan, Malaysia, with all the action being streamed live on the PSNS YouTube channel.

Men’s Quarter Final Results: Tuanku Muhriz Trophy
Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) bt [1] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) 3-2: 7-11, 11-7, 13-15, 11-7, 11-7 (87m)
Abhay Singh (IND) bt [4] Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-1: 9-11, 12-10, 11-3, 12-10 (58m)
Amaad Fareed (PAK) bt Abdallah Elmasry (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 (43m)
[2] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt [5] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 3-0: 11-3, 12-10, 11-8 (39m)

Men’s Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Friday, July 1
Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) v Abhay Singh (IND)
Amaad Fareed (PAK) v [2] Ivan Yuen (MAS)

Women’s Quarter Final Results: Tuanku Muhriz Trophy
Aira Azman (MAS) bt Nour Heikal (EGY) 3-2: 12-10, 16-14, 11-13, 3-11, 11-7 (51m)
Ainaa Amani (MAS) bt [4] Nardine Garas (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 11-4 (35m)
[3] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) 3-1: 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8 (43m)
[2] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt [7] Yee Xin Yang (MAS) 3-0: 11-6, 13-11, 11-7 (23m)

Women’s Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Friday, July 1
Aira Azman (MAS) v Ainaa Amani (MAS)
[3] Malak Khafagy (EGY) v [2] Salma Eltayeb (EGY)