Malaysia Cup RD2: Lee Scores Azman Upset For Maiden Bronze Quarter-Final

Hong Kong’s Ka Yi Lee sprung the surprise of the evening session on day two at the Ace Malaysia Squash Cup 2023 as she upset home favourite Aifa Azman to progress to her first ever quarter-final at a PSA World Tour Bronze event.

Malaysian No.3 seed Azman entered the match at the S2 Sport Complex in Seremban having not lost to Lee since 2015, but it was the latter who started the brightest, taking the first game 11-8.

Although Lee was playing with consistently tight lines and lengths, Azman seemed off the pace in front of her home crowd, hitting uncharacteristic errors at key times in the second, and subsequently falling two games behind.

Azman, a quarter-finalist here in Malaysia last year, came to life in the third to reduce the deficit to 2-1, but this fightback was short-lived, with Lee powering her way into a 7-2 lead in the fourth and not letting the opportunity of an upset slip through her fingers. 

The World No.44 closed off the match after 33 minutes of action, winning 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4.

Following her victory, Lee said: “It’s so amazing to win today because when you have been losing to somebody for eight years, it’s such a long time, and I am so happy to have this win.

“I tried to take the ball to the corners when I could. Aifa has such good hands and you can’t give her opportunities.

“It was tough for me, so I tried to keep the ball tight to the corners so I could have more chances to go for shots as well. 

“Winning today has a big impact on my confidence. I think tomorrow I will be playing Sivasangari [Subramaniam], and I haven’t played her in a long time, so I hope I can have a good match.”

Lee will look to continue her fine form in Malaysia against another home hope, Sivasangari Subramaniam, for a spot in the semi-finals. 

World No.32 Subramaniam was in top form to defeat England’s Alicia Mead in 23 minutes of action on the side court. Despite taking the first two games by comfortable 11-4 and 11-3 scorelines, the Malaysian was forced to fight for the victory to the very end, coming through a 12-10 tiebreak in the third. 

Elsewhere in the women’s draw, No.1 seed Nour EL Tayeb sailed into the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals after a routine straight-game victory over Hong Kong’s Tse-Wing Tong. 

The World No.6 was in a punishing mood from the offset, taking the ball early and playing with her trademark aggression to take the first game 11-5. Despite throwing some counter-punches of her own in the second, Tong couldn’t mount a sufficient comeback from 10-3 down to fall two games behind.

El Tayeb calmly worked her way through the third, sealing the match with an exquisite lob into the backhand nick, walking off the court after just 26 minutes of play. 

After the match, she said: “The first match is always tricky, so to get it in three and to get the feel of the court is very nice. It also gives me confidence heading into tomorrow. 

“I’m not used to being the No.1 seed at events, so being the No.1 seed has meant there has been a little bit of pressure. But once the tournament starts, it comes down to whoever is better on the day, and in the week.

“I have never played Amina [Orfi] in a PSA event before. I have heard a lot about her and I’m very much looking forward to this match. I want to see what she’s all about.

“When she was 15, I think I was double her age, so it’s very funny to be the older one, but I’m very excited to play her.” 

El Tayeb will play compatriot and No.6 seed Amina Orfi in what looks a blockbuster quarter-final after the 16-year-old worked her way past Marta Dominguez Fernandez 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 in 36 minutes. 

In the men’s draw, No.7 seed Dimitri Steinmann showed his inner steel to score a dramatic fifth-game tie-break victory over Malaysia’s Ivan Yuen. 

After four games of nip and tuck squash, the Swiss player looked destined to be heading home empty-handed from Malaysia as he fell 10-3 down in the deciding game, but from there, he claimed a remarkable seven straight points to force a tie-break. 

Steinmann continued to fire his shots in short with speed and aggression, eventually coming away a 13-11 victor in the fifth and final game.  

After his 80-minute blockbuster encounter, Steinmann said: “It was very up and down. I have a lot of respect for Ivan, he is a phenomenal shot maker, and I think I had a little bit too much about his aura and looking up to him throughout the match. 

“Once I was able to drop it, at 10-3 down in the fifth, I had no pressure at all and it just came off. 

“Mentally, I was already on the plane and I just didn’t want the scoreline to be 11-3 in the fifth, so I just wanted to get some more points on the board. I was just thinking about my coaches back home and I just didn’t want to disappoint them. 

“I took some of their advice and just started firing and it came out well!” 

Steinmann will face No.2 seed Karim Abdel Gawad in the quarter-finals after the Egyptian continued his early season form to see off the threat of Tsz Kwan Lau in a highly entertaining battle on the glass court. 

Despite the dominant-looking 3-0 scoreline, the Grasshopper Cup champion was pushed all the way by a pumped-up Lau, who used all of the tools in his armoury to engage in some eye-catching rallies. 

From rally one, the World No.45 looked to finish points in a concise manner, looking for nicks and drop shots whenever Gawad left the ball short. However, despite Lau flying out of the blocks like a jack in the box, Gawad maintained his poise to take the first game 11-6. 

The match continued in a similar vein in the second and third, with Gawad mixing up his pace nicely to force Lau into a number of errors. The Egyptian closed out the match 11-7, 11-6 in the subsequent two games to progress to the Quarter-finals. 

Speaking after the match, Gawad said: “I am happy to get through in three. I was expecting it to be a good match, I have watched him a lot, I know how good he is in the short games and especially on a court like this. 

“I studied him very well and I made sure to play as tight as possible and try not to give him many chances to attack. I managed most of the game well, of course, sometimes it is hard to play 100% tight the whole match, but I tried my best and I was happy with my basic game today.

“I like to focus on it match by match, see how every round will go and recover well between each round. I don’t look ahead to the final, I just play my next match like it is the final, so we’ll see how my quarter-final goes.” 

Malaysian No.4 seed Eain Yow Ng booked his spot in the last eight of his home event after a hard-fought straight-game win over the in-form Egyptian Ibrahim Elkabbani. 

Elkabbani, who arrived in Malaysia on the back of victory at the SA Open last week, matched Ng stroke for stroke in the early stages, with both players happy to engage in attritional rallies down the backhand wall. However, Ng showed his experience to move from 7-7 to take the first game 11-8. 

The second game continued in a similar manner, with Elkabbani reading his opponent extremely well but occasionally trying to force the winning shot at the wrong time in the rally. Despite the Egyptian racing into an early 4-0 lead in the second, Ng showed a cool demeanour to bring himself level and eventually take the game 11-8. 

The match looked all but sealed with Ng 10-2 up in the final game, but within what seemed just moments, Elkabbani clawed back six consecutive points. A remarkable comeback, though, wasn’t to be, as the World No.66 tinned out to end the match after 46 minutes of action. 

“It was definitely a tricky match,” Ng said after the match. “Elkabbani is one of the young Egyptian kids coming through, so it’s another tricky match. He was coming into the match in good form, having won in South Africa, so I knew how dangerous he is. 

“It took me some time to get into the match, but I thought once I got in control of the match, I was comfortable, apart from towards the end, but overall I am happy with my game. 

“It’s always tricky [to close a match out]. He has kind of half give-up at the end, and in 30 seconds or so I had lost the next six points. I took it a little bit too casually and too easy, but again I was relieved to see him hit the tin at the end and I’m happy to survive. 

“I think I have always done well in Malaysia, everyone is behind me today. I don’t see it as a pressure, I see it as motivation and an advantage over other players.” 

Ng will face Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais for a spot in the semi-finals in Seremban after the No.6 seed defeated England’s Ben Smith in straight games.

The World No.36 looked in brilliant form as he raced through his second-round encounter, winning 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 in just 26 minutes.

Action on day three of the Ace Malaysia Squash Cup begins at 13:30 (GMT +8) with all eight matches from the glass court in Seremban shown live on SQUASHTV.

For more information on the event and to go behind the scenes in Malaysia, follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok  and YouTube.

Results – Men’s Second Round: Evening Session 

[2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (30m)

[7] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 3-2: 12-14, 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 13-11 (80m)

[4] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (46m)

[6] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) bt Ben Smith (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (25m)

Results – Women’s Second Round: Evening Session 

[1] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (26m)

[6] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) 3-0 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (36m) 

Ka Yi Lee (HKG) bt [3] Aifa Azman (MAS) 3-1: 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4 (33m) 

[7] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt Alicia Mead (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 12-10 (23m)