Nafiizwan, Beng Hee through to Worlds second round, not Ivan (updated)

Malaysia's Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (left) sen here in action in the National Tour Circuit meet last year, has made it to the second round of the world championships in Doha on Saturday.

PETALING JAYA: National No.2 squash player Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan upset the form books in the first round of the men’s World Championship in Doha, Qatar.

The 28-year-old Nafiizwan, the world No. 34, secured a 13-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5 win over 20-year-old Egyptian Mazen Hesham, the world No. 31.

“I think luck was on my side today. I was quite fortunate to take the first set. I also managed to stick to my game plan and pressured him on the back court and made him work harder for every single point,” said Nafiizwan.

“Mazen came back strongly in the third set to put me under pressure. I had to work a lot harder in the fourth to win the match. I’m just really glad that I got through,” added the Terengganu-born Nafiizwan.

Nafiizwan’s reward is a second-round date with top seed and world No. 2 Gregory Gaultier on Sunday. The Frenchman survived a scare from Egyptian qualifier Andrew Wagih before registering a 6-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 win.

“I didn’t feel good at all. I was off from the start as none of my shots responded. I just felt flat today despite training hard for the past two weeks,” said Gaultier.

“At 2-0 down I told myself to start all over again as I was trying to be more patient and get my length going. It was only in the third set that I managed to get on top of him,” added the 31-year-old.

Ivan Yuen, the other Malaysian representative, failed to clear the first round. He went down 5-11, 12-14, 5-11 to two-time winner Ramy Ashour of Egypt in just 32 minutes.

In a later match, national No.1 Ong Beng Hee also made the second round after beating Welsh qualifier Peter Creed 11-9, 11-4, 11-8. He will face either eighth seed Daryl Selby of England or South African Stephen Coppinger next.