Challenger Tour Round-Up: Ibrahim Ends Chuah Streak; Singh & Salem to Meet in Final; Damming Avenges Hawal Defeat

Squash Racquets Association of Negeri Sembilan PSNS President’s Trophy 2024 

Egypt’s Ziad Ibrahim ended Joachim Chuah’s winning streak to reach the Squash Racquets Association of Negeri Sembilan PSNS President’s Trophy final. 

19-year-old Chuah had won his last two Challenger Tour events and was looking to reach his fourth consecutive final, all as an unseeded player. 

Taking on No.2 seed Ibrahim in Seremban here, he saved game ball on his way to taking the opening game on a tiebreak, 12-10, and was then 8-4 up in the second. 

But the tall Egyptian – who boasted a near 20cm height advantage on his opponent – fought his way back to level the score, once again in a tiebreak finishing 12-10. 

Game three also went to a breaker and once more went the way of the Egyptian, this time 14-12, and he closed out victory in game four, this time without needing to go beyond 11 points, winning it 11-8. 

He will now play top seed Darren Pragasam, who beat Andrik Lim 3-0 earlier in the day. 

That was the third of three all-Malaysian semi-finals, with both women’s matches being played out by home players. 

Fourth seed Heng Wai Wong was the first to progress into Sunday’s final, sweeping aside Jessica Keng in little more than 20 minutes, before top seed Sehveetrraa Kumar followed suit with a 3-0 win of her own, beating Yu Jie Chen. 

The finals of the Squash Racquets Association of Negeri Sembilan PSNS President’s Trophy kick off at 3pm local time (8am BST) on Sunday, June 29, streaming live on the PSNS Squash YouTube channel 

Dynam Cup SQ-Cube Open 2024 

The women’s final at the Dynam Cup SQ-Cube Open will be an all-16-year-old matchup after both Anahat Singh and Ruqayya Salem won their respective semi-finals. 

Opening play on semi-finals day against home favourite Sugimoto Risa, Indian sensation Singh controlled the first two games and looked to be heading for a routine win, only for the No.6 seed to keep the match alive by clinching a tight game three 11-9. 

Singh, though, regained her composure and dominated game four, losing only four points to keep her hopes alive of a fourth straight Challenger Tour title. 

Standing in her way will be fellow 16-year-old Salem, who is making her Challenger Tour debut this week. 

The young lefty is hoping to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Barb Sameh, who last week became the latest player to win the title in her maiden PSA tour event. 

Salem’s semi-final win was far from straightforward, though, as she needed to fight back from two games down to beat fourth seed Min-gyeong Heo in five, eventually closing out victory in 43 minutes. 

In the men’s draw, Ryunosuke Tsukue is one win away from winning this event for the fourth consecutive year, after beating Malaysia’s Addeen Idrakie in five on semi-finals day. 

The three-time defending champion survived a huge scare in his five-game win over Ameeshenraj Chandaran in the last eight, and was taken the distance by another Malaysian 24 hours later. 

He once again had to come from behind, albeit this time from 2-1 down not 2-0, but ultimately came out on top following just over an hour on court. 

His opponent in the final will be rising Egyptian talent Kareem El Torkey, who knocked out No.2 seed Lucas Serme 3-1. 

El Torkey already has four Challenger Tour titles to his name, and will now have his sights set on clinching another after overturning a 1-0 deficit to beat the experienced Frenchman. 

Trident Homes South Island Open 2024 

Rowan Damming gained revenge on young Egyptian Adam Hawal to reach the Trident Homes South Island Open final. 

The 15-year-old had beaten Damming 3-2 in round two of the Skillzea Open 11 days ago, but the former world junior champion made his experience count this time around, winning 3-0 in 50 minutes. 

Damming will now play Elijah Thomas in the final, after the Kiwi got the better of compatriot Temwa Chileshe in the other semi-finals. 

Thomas won the Skillzea Open a week ago, and has continued that fine form in Christchurch this week, booking his spot in the final with a 3-0 win of his own. 

In the women’s draw, in-form Norweigan Madeleine Hylland knocked out home favourite and No.2 seed Ella Lash to reach her second Challenger Tour final, where she will play Wales’ Lowri Roberts. 

Hylland won the Cooper Fluid System Golden Open Kalgoorlie a few weeks ago and followed that up with a Satellite trophy last week, before booking her spot in this final with a 3-0 win over the left-handed Lash. 

Roberts, meanwhile, was made to work hard for her victory by fourth seed Winona-Jo Joyce. 

The No.1 seed had dominated her first two matches this week, not dropping a game, but found herself on the back foot in this one after losing the first 11-7. 

But she turned things around from there, winning the next three games to wrap up victory inside half an hour, reaching her fourth Tour final. 

City of Greater Bendigo International 2024 

Former World No.35 Nasir Iqbal is into his second straight PSA Tour final, after beating Lap Man Au at the City of Greater Bendigo International. 

Pakistan’s Iqbal started the month of May outside the world’s top 400 having played only one previous event this season, but a runner-up finish at the 20k 16th CNS International Squash helped him back inside the top 200. 

He now has a shot at winning his first Tour title since 2022 after easing past the No.6 seed in straight games in Bendigo. 

Not only has Iqbal not yet dropped a game this week, but he’s yet to lose more than five points in any of them, leaving France’s Matteo Carrouget facing a tall order in the final. 

Carrouget, however, has enjoyed a similarly dominant week, reaching this final without losing any more than seven points in a game, most recently beating Australia’s Gianluca Bushell-O’Connor in the semi-finals. 

The women’s final, meanwhile, will pit the top two seeds against each other, after both Erin Classen and Chanithma Sinaly won lengthy, five-game encounters. 

Top seed Classen was facing fellow Aussie Pascale Louka and the match could hardly have been tighter, with all five games separated by three points or fewer. 

The 19-year-old ultimately got over the finish line, though, winning a tense deciding game 11-8. 

Sri Lanka’s Sinaly later followed Classen into the final with a 3-2 win over local player Carina Loi, battling back from 2-1 down to win in five. 

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