Nafiizwan downs Ivan in Brisbane to end title drought

PETALING JAYA: Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan finally ended his long wait for a title by downing compatriot Ivan Yuen in an epic final to win the US$15,000 Hibiscus Gardens Open squash tournament in Brisbane.

After surviving three tough matches to reach the final, Nafiizwan made no mistakes in bagging his sixth professional squash association (PSA) title.

But it was far from easy as two time Asian Junior champion Ivan was equally hungry and pushed the top–seeded Nafiizwan all the way.

Nafiizwan, the national No. 3, was forced to come back from a set down before clinching a 12-14, 117, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10 win in a match that lasted two hours and 15 minutes.

It was a huge relief for the 25year-old who had endured a bad start to the year, crashing out in the first round in three consecutive tournaments.

Despite winning the Asian championship last year, Nafiizwan had yet to prove himself in the PSA circuit, with his last title —- the NSC Series NSC No. 7 — coming back in July 2009.

Coincidentally, his opponent in that final was also Ivan.

It was a well savoured victory for the Terengganu lad, who has now proven that he can compete at the highest level and could be the man to lead Malaysia’s challenge when Mohd Azlan Iskandar and Ong Beng Hee retire.

Nafiizwan’s next assignment will be the KL Open from March 28-31.