Eain Yow on right track despite defeat

NATIONAL No 1 Ng Eain Yow proved that he is definitely inching towards the top tier of men’s squash after going down fighting to world No 10 Marwan Elshorbagy of Egypt in the second round of the Channel VAS Championships at St George’s Hill in London on Thursday.

World No 32 Eain Yow can stand tall despite losing 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6 to the 26-year-old Marwan in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour Gold event.

The Malaysian’s movement on and off the ball, combined with his deceptive shot selection and ability to keep a cool head under pressure had the crowd in Surrey cheering for him.

This augurs well for the 2016 world junior champion, who took a big career leap last week by relocating to Bristol, where he trains with Hadrian Stiff.

Even Marwan, who is based in Bristol as well, had nothing but praise for Eain Yow.

“I knew how tough the match was going to be because I’ve played him a couple of times in practice and I’ve seen how much he’s improved,” said Marwan.

The Egyptian, who was a semifinalist at the Men’s World Championships in Doha last week, faces compatriot and second seed Karim Abdel Gawad in the quarter-finals.

In the PSA Challenger 10 London Open, national No 3 Syafiq Kamal has set up a quarter-final clash against former World No 1 James Willstrop of England.

World No 85 Syafiq, who has also been training in Bristol for the past three weeks, scored a 611, 11-7, 11-6, 12-10 win over India’s Abhay Singh in the second round.