EAIN YOW STUNS HOME FAVOURITE ABDULLA IN QATAR CLASSIC

Eain Yow in second round of Platinum event

PETALING JAYA: National No. 2 squash player Ng Eain Yow (pic) claimed one of the biggest victories of his career after defeating home favourite and world No. 24 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi in the Qatar Classic in Doha.

Eain Yow, ranked 42nd in the men’s squash world rankings, sealed an 11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 victory in his second PSA World Tour Platinum event to book a place in the second round of a major event for the first time in his career.

“I knew coming into today (Saturday), it would be tough to play him in his hometown. So I just told myself that there was no pressure and to relax and enjoy the match,” said Eain Yow, who played a pivotal role in the team that defeated Hong Kong for the gold at the Indonesia Asian Games in August.

“He’s a very talented and tricky player, so I just had to play it simple, keep the ball tight and stay focused. I knew there would be pressure on him and in the first game, I could see he was a bit slow off the mark and I tried to take advantage of that and the first game was very important.

“To win this match means a lot to me as well because I’ve fallen short at the major events previously and have struggled to get into the main draws. So winning today and getting into the second round for the first time is a big deal for me,” said the 20-year-old Eain Yow, who will next take on former world champion Karim Abdel Gawad.

“Playing against players like Karim, who’s someone I have always look up to, is the sort of thing that every player works for, so I’m excited to just give it everything I’ve got and see what happens,” added the 2016 world junior champion.

National No. 1 Nafiizwan Adnan failed to get the better of Scotsman Greg Lobban in the first round.

Nafiizwan, ranked 40th in the world, lost 11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 11-13, 5-11 in 84 minutes.