NSW Squash Open: Singh and Ying Victorious In Sydney

The Alto Group Pennant Hills NSW Squash Open came to its conclusion on Sunday at the Thornleigh Squash Centre in Sydney, Australia, with India’s Abhay Singh and Malaysian Yee Xin Ying taking home the Challenger 3 level titles.

The young Malaysian, who remains a junior until November, received a bye through the opening round in Sydney, before then going to five games in her quarter final contest against Hong Kong’s Ching Hei Fung, dealing with a comeback from the tournament’s No.7 seed to advance. 

She then had to come from two games down to defeat compatriot and No.3 seed Aira Azman in the semi-finals. Azman held a two-game lead after some decent squash in the opening exchanges, but Ying fought back, with a tie-break victory in the fourth being crucial en route to the completion of her comeback. That 12-10 win in kept the momentum in her favour, and she went on to win the fifth 11-4 to book a spot in the final.

The final saw the young Malaysian take on Hong Kong’s Cheng Nga Ching, the tournament’s top seed, for the crown. She won the first, but saw Ching take the second after a lengthy ie-break, 16-14. Ying then found herself behind after three games, but regrouped to fight back, dropping just nine points across the final two games of the competition, to win in five and claim her maiden title on Tour.

In the men’s draw, India’s Abhay Singh started the week as the No.3 seed, and he dispatched New Zealand’s Joel Arscott in the opening round, before then also getting the better of No.8 seed Chung Yat Long in straight games to advance to the semi-finals of the event.

In the last four, he took on the tournament’s top seed, Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi, and went behind early after a fast start from the Swiss star. The pair were level after four games, but it was Singh that was able to up his game in the deciding game to advance through to another final in 2022.

The final saw the Indian take on another man from Switzerland, in the form of No.2 seed Robin Gadola. Singh took the first game 15-13, and that was crucial for the contest, as he then also won a tight second game. Gadola fought back to win the third, but it did not fluster Singh, who regrouped to take the fourth, and with it, claim his third title of the year.

Results: Alto Group Pennant Hills NSW Squash Open
Men’s Final
[3] Abhay Singh (IND) bt [2] Robin Gadola (SUI) 3-1: 15-13, 11-9, 1-11, 11-8 (55m)

Women’s Final
[2] Yee Xin Ying (MAS) bt [1] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) 3-2: 11-7, 14-16, 9-11, 11-6, 11-3 (44m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
[3] Abhay Singh (IND) bt [1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 3-2: 2-11, 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7 (61m)
[2] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt [5] Rhys Dowling (AUS) 3-1: 12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5 (48m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[2] Yee Xin Ying (MAS) bt [3] Aira Azman (MAS) 3-2: 5-11, 7-11 ,11-8, 12-10, 11-4 (35m)
[1] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt [4] Celine Walser (SUI) 3-2: 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-4, 12-10 (43m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [7] Matthew Lai (HKG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-7 (29m)
[3] Abhay Singh (IND) bt [8] Chung Yat Long (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-6 (18m)
[5] Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt [4] Robert Andrew Garcia (PHI) 3-1: 12-10, 11-5, 6-11, 11-8 (42m)
[2] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt [6] Harley Lam (HKG) 3-0: 13-11, 11-3, 11-7 (30m)

Women’s Quarter Finals
[2] Yee Xin Ying (MAS) bt [5] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) 3-2: 5-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7 (44m)
[3] Aira Azman (MAS) bt [5] Akari Midorikawa (JPN) 3-0: 11-9, 13-11, 11-7 (27m)
[4] Celine Walser (SUI) bt [8] Urwashi Joshi (IND) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 (17m)
[1] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt [6] Sehveetrraa Kumar (MAS) 3-1: 9-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-4 (37m)

Men’s Round One
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt Damon MacMillan (AUS) 3-2: 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 4-11, 11-7
[7] Matthew Lai (HKG) bt Rohan Toole (AUS) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-6,
[8] Chung Yat Long (HKG) bt Wailok To (HKG) 3-2: 11-9, 4-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-1
[3] Abhay Singh (IND) bt Joel Arscott (NZL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-7
[4] Robert Andrew Garcia (PHI) bt Amir Amirul (MAS) 3-1: 11-7, 4-11, 11-5, 11-5
[5] Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt Manu Paquemar (FRA) 3-0: 13-11, 11-3, 11-6
[6] Harley Lam (HKG) bt James Llyod (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-6
[2] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt Nicholas Calvert (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-3

Women’s Round One
[7] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) bt Maggie Goodman (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-6
[5] Akari Midorikawa (JPN) bt Riffat Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-2
[3] Aira Azman (MAS) bt Noor ul Huda (PAK) 3-0: 11-1, 11-2, 11-3
[4] Celine Walser (SUI) bt Jennifer Condie (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-7
[8] Urwashi Joshi (IND) bt Sze Yu Lee (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-6
[6] Sehveetrraa Kumar (MAS) bt Aiman Shahbaz (PAK) 3-0: 11-0, 11-4, 11-3