CHAN WINS CAIRNS SQUASH TITLE
SHOCK Cairns Squash International winner Darren Chan says a sustained diet of seafood pasta has helped him power his way past No.1 seed Evan Williams in a tough final at Westcourt yesterday afternoon.
Chan, on holiday in the Far North with his mum and dad, entered his first professional tournament as a wildcard after contacting the tournament’s organisers earlier this month.
Asked the secret to his success on debut, the humble Malaysian international attributed his stellar run to a Cairns restaurant’s signature dish.
“After games, I really needed the carbs but I wanted to eat some seafood while I was here too,” the 22-year-old said.
“So I just kept ordering the same seafood pasta after every game and it worked.”
After defeating Hong Kong’s Harley Lam in the qualifying round, Chan rolled through his next three opponents, including No.3 seed Alex Eustace, with relative ease before facing off against Kiwi Williams in the final.
“There was no pressure on me because I was unseeded,” he said.
“Evan is a very good player with a few titles to his name. I was really nervous, to be honest.
“I knew he was fit and fast. But I talked to a few of my friends and we came up with a game plan.”
Ranked No.95 in the world, a weary Williams played two five-setters on his way through to the final, including an epic 75-minute clash against Innisfail’s Steve Finitsis in arguably the match of the tournament.
“It was good to get through to the semi-final. I had to dig deep after being down 2-nil down,” Finitsis said.
“I changed some things tactically but you’ve got to take your chances which Evan, to his credit, did.”
Having retired from the pro circuit in 2016, Finitsis said he enjoyed his annual hit-out in Cairns.
“When the tournament comes around I still feel like I can switch it on,” the former Commonwealth Games representative said.
“It takes a little while but it’s like riding a bike and you just get into it.
“I was surprised that I can still do it, even though I’m not as fast or as fit as I once was. But then again I did it for 12 years.”
Chan, a former star at junior level, said he intentionally pushed the pace to try to run his opponent off the court.
“I wanted the game to be short and sharp, knowing that he was probably a little bit tired,” he said.
Today, Chan will attendhis graduation ceremony at Monash University in Melbourne, having completed a degree in Actuarial Science.
“I want to work and play part-time professionally,” he said.
“I want to show youngsters that you can study and play squash professionally if you have the heart and dedication to do it.”