KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s squash player Ng Eain Yow landed his first Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour title after emerging triumphant at the inaugural German Open 2024 on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded player rose to the occasion to see off sixth seed Dimitri Steinmann 12-10, 11-8, 10-12, and 11-3 in a thrilling contest that lasted 66 minutes during the PSA World Tour Bronze-tier tournament in Hamburg.
In the post-match interview with PSA, the player ranked 22nd in the world expressed his relief at surpassing his Swiss opponent and emerging victorious to claim the title.
“He (Steinmann) was just firing it in from everywhere and he wasn’t missing much, so I had to dig deep, keep running, keep getting all the balls back and sticking to my game plan and I think I did that,” he said.
Yesterday, the 26-year-old pulled off a major upset as he toppled the top seed from Wales, Joel Makin, 13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, to reach the finals.
Steinmann, on the other hand, downed Mohamed ElSherbini 11-8, 11-4, and 11-1 to reach the finals in the other last four encounters.
In the women’s category, top seed Nele Gilis from Belgium missed out on the chance to claim the title as she fell to third seed Georgina Kennedy of England, 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 14-12.
Eain Yow’s feat in Hamburg undoubtedly added to the jubilation in Malaysian squash, following national women’s player S. Sivasangari’s sensational win at the inaugural London Squash Classic 2024 just last week.
The world number 13, Sivasangari, delivered a stunning performance by defeating the world number two from Egypt, Hania El Hammamy, 11-9, 5-11, 13-11, 12-14, and 11-8 in the final at Alexandra Palace, London.
Her phenomenal feat in the London Squash Classic marked Sivasangari as the first Malaysian player to clinch a gold-level PSA World Tour title since national squash legend Datuk Nicol David’s victory at the 2015 Hong Kong Open.
