Keo the King in Kuala Lumpur

#PSAWorldTour

Number seven seed Elvinn Keo rose through a competitive field to capture his first PSA World Tour title at the Malaysian Tour Squash IV, PSA Challenger 5 event in Kuala Lumpur with a win over Sanjay Singh Chal in the final.

The 27-year-old advanced to the final on home-soil after a terrific performance against tournament favourite Ivan Yuen. Yuen had eliminated Keo in the semi-final of the third iteration of the Malaysian Tour last month so the victory was all the more impressive, particularly given that Yuen was ranked over 100 places above Keo in the World Rankings.

Chal, who is based in Kuala Lumpur, saw off wildcard Marcus Wei Jie Sim, eighth seed Muhammad Asim Khan and Eain Yow Ng in impressive fashion to progress to his first ever PSA World Tour final.

Keo started in dominant fashion, forcing his opponent back to climb to an 11-5 victory before doubling his lead with the same score line in the second.

Chal rallied though and fought back with a tenacious display in the third game, winning 11-7 to halve his compatriot’s advantage. However, Keo upped his efforts considerably and stormed to an 11-3 victory in the final game to take home his maiden title.

“I still can’t believe the way I played in this tournament,” said Keo.

“This is my first PSA World Tour title and I played so well to win by beating a few seeds and also higher ranked players than me.”

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 5, Malaysian Tour Squash IV, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1st round:
[1] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt [Q] Mazen Gamal (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 5-0 ret. (45m)
Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt [6] Muhammad Hannan (MAS) 3-1: 4-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (42m)
[7] Elvinn Keo (MAS) bt [Q] Gurshan Singh (MAS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 (25m)
[Q] Muhammad Shoaib Hassan (PAK) bt [4] Valentino Bon Jovi Bong (MAS) 3-1: 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3 (50m)
[3] Sanjay Singh Chal (MAS) bt [WC] Marcus Wei Jie Sim (MAS) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-2 (25m)
[8] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) bt Sandeep Jangra (IND) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5 (49m)
[5] Muhammad Saqib Yousaf (PAK) bt [Q] Mohd Farez Izwan (MAS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-8 (40m)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt [2] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-3, 11-8 (36m)

Quarter-finals:
[1] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-1: 9-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 (39m)
[7] Elvinn Keo (MAS) bt [Q] Muhammad Shoaib Hassan (PAK) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-9 (23m)
[3] Sanjay Singh Chal (MAS) bt [8] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) 3-1: 11-7, 14-12, 10-12, 11-5 (44m)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt [5] Muhammad Saqib Yousaf (PAK) 3-2: 11-6, 4-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-5 (53m)

Semi-finals:
[7] Elvinn Keo (MAS) bt [1] Ivan Yuen (MAS) 3-1: 11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6 (45m)
[3] Sanjay Singh Chal (MAS) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 13-11 (31m)

Final:
[7] Elvinn Keo (MAS) bt [3] Sanjay Singh Chal (MAS) 3-1: 11-5, 11-5, 7-11, 11-3 (39m)