Challenger Tour Round-Up: Ling and Swaify Cause Hong Kong Upsets

Hong Kong Squash PSA Challenge Cup – 2nd Leg

World No.195 Andes Ling caused the biggest upset on day two at the Hong Kong Squash PSA Challenge Cup – 2nd Leg, beating fourth seed Mohammad Syafiq Kamal to reach the quarter-finals. 

Ling was a semi-finalist at the Hong Kong Squash PSA Challenge Cup -1st Leg a few weeks ago, and will now compete for another appearance in the final four, after sweeping aside the Malaysian 3-0 in half an hour. 

The other big upset on day two saw a reverse in fortunes in terms of nationalities, with Malaysia’s Ong Sai Hung beating Hong Kong’s Wong Chi Him. 

Wong had won the 1st Leg event in January, but was unable to follow that up with another deep run here, throwing away a 2-0 lead to lose a fifth-game tie break 12-10 after 67 minutes. 

Ong will now take on Ling in the quarter-finals, meaning at least one unseeded player is guaranteed a place in the last four. 

The top two seeds, Yassin Elshafei and Tang Ming Hong, both progressed, although not without concern. 

Egypt’s Elshafei needed all five games to see off Malaysia’s Duncan Lee, taking the fifth 11-6, while Tang had to hold off a charge from Baptiste Bouin to win 3-1. 

In the women’s draw, 16-year-old Egyptian Jana Swaify continued to showcase her talent by beating No.3 seed Ching Hei Fung. 

Swaify is ranked almost 150 places below Ching in the world rankings, but defied those rankings to run out a 3-1 winner, continuing her record of reaching the quarter-finals or better of every PSA event she’s played. 

Swaify’s reward for her win will be a quarter-final matchup with the in-form Toby Tse. 

Tse has not lost a match in 2024 so far after clinching the 1st Leg title a fortnight ago, and continued that run with a 3-1 win over Akari Midorikawa. 

Brno Open

Top seed Martin Svec kicked off his quest for glory at the Brno Open in style, losing only three points in his win over local player Radim Jurasek. 

Svec is the overwhelming favourite for the men’s title at this event as the only player inside the top 100, and produced a ruthless performance to win 11-0, 11-1, 11-2 in less than half an hour. 

He was one of six seeds to progress through to the quarter-finals, but seventh seed Kajetan Lipski and eighth seed Adam Sinkule went out. 

Poland’s Lipski fell 3-2 to compatriot Tomasz Matejski, who came back from two games down to win in 55 minutes, clinching victory 12-10 in the deciding tie break. 

Sinkule, meanwhile, was comfortably beaten by Martin Štepán, losing 11-6, 11-3, 11-6. 

The women’s event kicks off today, with the first two rounds both taking place in one day, either side of the men’s quarter-finals. 

You can stay up to date with all the results on the PSA Tour here.