EAIN YOW ON REDEMPTION SONG
Stuns Ivan to make Malaysian Open final
NG Eain Yow atoned for his past disappointment as he continued on his road to redemption by reaching the Ohana Malaysian Open final with a stunning semi-final win over national champion Ivan Yuen yesterday.
The 2016 world junior champion made light of an eight-year age gap and ranking difference of 36 places to send World No 41 Ivan spinning out of the tournament with an 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10 win.
Eain Yow felt he let the country down at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games in August, when his defeat to Robert Garcia of the Philippines saw Malaysia knocked out in the semi-finals of the team event though he recovered a day later to win the singles gold medal.
But his win over Ivan, the highest-ranked player Eain Yow has beaten, counts as a significant breakthrough for the 19-year-old, who recovered from 8-3 down in the fourth game and saved a match point at 10-9 in the fifth.
“The first thing which came to mind was losing in the semis of the Asian Junior Championships here last year after winning the world junior title in Poland,” said Eain Yow, playing in the tournament at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil on a wild card.
“That was a big disappointment for me and the country and again in the team event of the Sea Games which I’m sure everyone remembers.
“So I’m trying to redeem myself and play the best for the country.
“This is a big step forward and I feel really good.”
Eain Yow, who advanced to the final of a US$25,000 (RM105,000) event for the first time, will attempt to become the third Malaysian to win the tournament after Azlan Iskandar and Ong Beng Hee when he faces 2015 Asian champion Leo Au of Hong Kong in the final.
Leo, who defeated Eain Yow at this year’s Asian Championships, ended the run of Egyptian giant-killer Mazen Hesham 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 118.
National junior S. Sivasangari also hit a personal milestone when she advanced to the biggest final of her young career after taking out Japan’s Satomi Watanabe 118, 6-11, 11-2, 11-7 in the women’s semi-finals.
With Nicol David having won the title eight times, Sivasangari could join an illustrious list of winners when she faces South African Milnay Louw, who upset top seed Zeina Mickawy of Egypt 11-5, 6-11, 116, 12-10, in the final.
“I feel happy to be in the final but it’s not the end yet,” said Sivasangari, whose previous eight PSA Tour titles have all come in tournaments worth just US$5,000.
“Knowing that Nicol has won this when it was a World Series event, makes it more meaningful although it’s now a US$10,000 tournament.”