Challenger Events
ACE Challenger Tour 12k QFs: Idrakie Beats Nasser After Foot-Fault Drama, Ismail Sinks Kumar
Adeen Idrakie came through a dramatic encounter with Mohamed Nasser to reach the semi-finals of the ACE Challenger Tour 12k, ensuring there will be one Malaysian player in each of the four semi-finals.
Aifa Azman and Ainaa Amani had already booked their places in the women’s semi-finals earlier in the day, while Ameeshenraj Chandaran had produced a dominant display to sink Yassin Shohdy, with Idrakie and Nasser stepping on court for the final match of the day.
The first two games were both relatively one-sided, albeit in opposite directions, with Nasser taking the first and Nasser the second, both 11-5.
But it was game three when the match truly came alive, as the players went toe-to-toe into a tension-filled tie-break.
Nasser had the serve at 12-11 but was deemed to have foot-faulted, only for the referee to then change his decision to a let.
Idrakie was understandably frustrated but extraordinarily, Nasser foot-faulted again as the point was replayed, bringing the score back to 12-12.
The Egyptian had another game ball at 14-13, but the referee once again intervened to stop play, calling a double on a sprawling pick-up at the front of the court.
Once again, though, he ordered a let to be played, but Nasser was unable to capitalise, volleying a backhand into the tin.
Idrakie would ultimately take advantage of his opportunity, closing out the game 17-15 with a neat forehand drop, and raced out of the blocks in game four, moving 8-3 up.
Nasser continued fighting until the end, closing the gap back to 10-8, but another forehand drop from the Idrakie racket proved too good for the young Egyptian to reach.
The No.2 seed will now take on Noor Zaman in the final four, after the Pakistani player battled to a five-game win over Darren Pragasam, a match that lasted more than an hour.
The other men’s semi-final will pit top seed Velavan Senthilkumar against home favourite Chandaran, while the women’s draw will feature three of the top four seeds.
Top seed Azman and second seed Amani both recorded 3-0 wins, beating Salma El Alfy and Sehveetrraa Kumar respectively, with No.3 seed Akanksha Salunkhe denying compatriot Anahat Singh in between.
There is, however, no semi-final spot for fourth seed Yasshmita Jadish Kumar, who went down 3-1 to Hana Ismail.
Ismail enjoyed a breakout season in 2023/24, winning her first four PSA Tour titles, but will now have her sights set on her biggest prize to date, after an impressive quarter-final display.
It could have been a different story had the 19-year-old not staged an impressive fightback in game one, reeling off five points on the bounce to move from 10-7 down to 12-10 up.
She then dominated game two for the loss of just four points, but opened the door for Kumar in the third, dropping it 11-8 to keep the match alive.
But if Ismail had opened the door for her opponent in game three, she quickly slammed it shut again in game four, opening up a 7-0 lead in the blink of eye.
From there, she brought up six match balls but only needed one, wrapping up victory with a well-placed backhand drop at 10-4.
The semi-finals of the ACE Challenger Tour 12k get underway at 12pm local time on Saturday, September 6th, streaming live on the SQUASHTV Live Streaming YouTube channel.
