Ivan inches closer to a third PSA crown

PETALING JAYA: A sharper Ivan Yuen is on the verge of his third Professional Squash Association (PSA) title this year after reaching the semi-finals in the Pakistan Open in Lahore.

The world No. 65 put on a convincing performance in an 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 win against Israr Ahmed of Pakistan in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the 28-year-old was a class above as he easily dismissed home favourite Syed Ali Bokhari 11-7, 11-2, 11-8 in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.

The second seed will now go up against another home player Tayyab Aslam in the final four and Ivan looks to be the favourite to enter into the final as he has won the last two meetings against the world No. 67.

In the other semi-final, top seed Youssef Soliman of Egypt is expected to defeat seventh seed Asim Khan of Pakistan.

Ivan has already won the New Southern Open and New Zealand International Classic in June and will definitely want to make it three at the tournament.

His teammate and sixth seed Mohd Syafiq Kamal failed to get pass the second round when he fell to Israr 6-11, 12-10, 8-11, 6-11.

Another Malaysian, Addeen Idrakie lost to Hong Kong’s Henry Leung in a nail-biting first round clash that went down to the wire. Addeen fell 9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 7-11.