Islamabad (Syed Javed Hassan Shah): Malaysia’s Xin Ying Yee delivered the shock of the tournament so far as the 5/8 seed took down Egytian No.2 seed Malak Khafagy in a fiery quarter-final contest at the U23 World Squash Championships.
The inaugural edition of the championships are taking place at the DHA Creek Club, Karachi, and feature an array of the world’s top squash talent aged 22 and under.
In the men’s draw, Pakistan’s Hamza Khan went down in a hard-fought defeat to Malaysia’s Ameeshenraj Chandaran but Noor Zaman kept the home flag flying with a convincing win over France’s Melvil Scianimanico.
In front of a lively crowd, World No.82 Yee went in as clear underdog against World No.31, but belied the 51-place difference in the world rankings with a spirited opening game as she pressed Khafagy hard.
Khafagy, 20, was able to edge ahead as she took the opener 11-9, only to be pegged back 8-11 in game two.
Yee kept the momentum in game three, capitalising on mistakes from the frustrated Khafagy to move ahead for the first time with an 11-9 win, before Khafagy dragged herself level with an 11-7 game four win.
In a fractious fifth game, Khafagy and Yee collided frequently as the pair wrestled for control of the court. Yee looked to have secured a famous upset when she earned four match balls at 10-6, only for Khafagy to dig in to save three to move within a point of forcing a tie break.
In a nerve-shredder finale, Khafagy played a loose shot back towards herself, with Yee crashing into her opponent as she charged after the ball. To Yee’s delight and Khafagy’s unbridled fury, a stroke decision was given in the Malaysia’s favour to bring an enthralling match to a close and send the 21-year-old into the last four.
“She’s a very good player and this win is definitely such a boost of confidence for me!” Yee admitted afterwards.
Yee will face Hong Kong, China’s Sin Yuk Chan in the semi-final after the 3/4 seed made short work of Japan’s Akari Midorikawa.
The other women’s semi-final will between Egyptian top seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Malaysian 3/4 seed Aira Azman, with Aboelkheir overcoming a determined Toby Tse of Hong Kong, China, 3-1, and Azman beating Tse’s compatriot Heylie Fung 3-0.