The Squash World Cup witnessed its closest contest yet, between Malaysia and Australia, at the Express Avenue Mall on Wednesday.
In a tie that could have gone either way, fourth seed Malaysia scripted a fighting 3-1 win over its fifth-seeded opponent for its second successive victory in Group-A.
Later, in the last match of the day, India blanked South Africa 4-0 with Tanvi Khanna, Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Abhay Singh going about their business in quite a ruthless manner.
Tough battle ahead
The host, however, can expect a tough fight from Japan on Thursday.
Earlier, squash powerhouse Egypt, the top seed here, dismantled Colombia 4-0 in a Group-A tie.
However, it was the Malaysia-Australia contest that caught the eye for the intensity and fight shown by both teams.
After the young and talented Aira Aizman played a percentage game, aided by deft placements, to outwit South Africa’s Jessica Turnbull in the third match to make it 2-1, the fourth and final one between Malaysia’s Sai Hung Ong and Nicholas Calvert saw the former coming out with all guns blazing to snuff out a tough challenge and seal a win with a 7-6, 7-1, 7-5 verdict.
The results: Group-A: Egypt bt Colombia 4-0 (Kenzy Ayman bt Catalina Pelaez 7-5, 7-5, 7-6; Aly Abou Eleinen bt Felipe Tovar 7-5, 7-2, 7-2; Fayrouz Aboelkheir bt Laura Tovar 7-3, 7-4, 5-7, 7-2; Karim El Hammamy bt Alfonso Marroquín 7-5, 7-3, 4-7, 7-4).
Malaysia bt Australia 3-1 (Xin Ying Yee bt Alex Haydon 5-7, 7-4, 7-2, 7-4; Darren Pragasam lost to Joseph White 2-7, 6-7, 1-7; Aira Azman bt Jessica Turnbull 7-6, 7-2, 6-7, 7-1; Sai Hung Ong bt Nicholas Calvert 7-6, 7-1, 7-5).
Group-B: India bt South Africa 4-0 (Tanvi Khanna bt Hayley Ward 7-4, 7-2, 3-7, 7-2; Saurav Ghosal bt Dewald van Niekerk 7-6, 7-4, 7-1; Joshna Chinappa bt Lizelle Muller 7-4, 7-3, 3-7, 7-1; Abhay Singh bt Jean-Pierre Brits 7-4, 3-7, 7-6, 7-5).
Japan bt Hong Kong 3-1 (Akari Midorikawa lost to Toby Tse 5-7, 7-3, 4-7, 4-7; Ryunosuke Tsukue bt Andes Ling 7-1, 7-4, 7-1; Satomi Watanabe bt Heylie Fung 7-2, 7-1, 5-7, 7-2; Tomotaka Endo bt Chung Yat Long 7-4, 7-6, 7-5).
