Eain Yow’s quest for breakthrough ends in third round

Tough match awaits: Raneem El Welily (left) will play compatriot Nour El Tayeb in the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Championships in Egypt.

PETALING JAYA: National squash player Ng Eain Yow’s agonising wait for a breakthrough in a major tournament continues.

The 21-year-old’s lack of experience showed as he went down 11-7,10-12,11-7,6-11,6-11 to world No. 59 Baptiste Masotti of France in an arduous 73-minute battle in the third round of the Egyptian Open in Cairo yesterday.

The world No. 32 Eain Yow had an opportunity to finally reach his first-ever quarter-finals in a major squash event but his plans was destroyed by the 24-year-old Frenchman.

After taking a 2-1 lead, Eain Yow looked calm early in the fourth set, but Masotti had other plans as he muscled his way back into the game to level the score.

Undeterred, Eain Yow took a 4-1 lead in the final set to edge closer to his breakthrough but once again, Masotti took advantage of his opponents’ lapse in concentration to secure a ticket to the last eight.

It was Eain Yow’s third attempt to earn a spot in the quarter-finals after losing in the same round at the Hong Kong and Black Ball Opens last year to world No. 8 Mohamed Abouelghar and former world champion Mohamed El Shorbagy respectively.

The 2016 world junior champion will now have some time to regroup before he shifts his focus to the Men’s World Championships in Doha, Qatar, from Nov 8-15.

Meanwhile, in the Women’s World Championships in Egypt, top seed and home star Raneem El Welily stayed on course for a second world title after she easily dismissed Alison Waters of England 11-1,11-3,11-4 in the third round.

She meets compatriot and world No. 3 Nour El Tayeb in the quarter-finals. Another quarter-final match will pit England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Welsh lass Tesni Evans.

RESULTS

Egyptian Open

Third round: Ali Farag (Egy) bt Mazen Hashem (Egy) 11-4,11-8,11-7; Daryl Shelby (Eng) bt Chris Simpson (Eng) 11-5,6-11,11-4,7-11,11-2; Paul Coll (Nzl) bt Gregoire Marche (Fra) 13-11,11-6,9-11,11-2; Farous Dessouky (Egy) bt Saurav Ghosal (Ind) 11-6,11-5,11-6; Baptiste Masotti (Fra) bt Ng Eain Yow (Mas) 7-11,12-10,7-11,11-6,11-6.

Women’s World Championships

Third round: Nouran Gouhar (Egy) bt Tinne Gilis (Bel) 11-8,11-3,11-6; Raneem El Welily (Egy) bt Alison Waters (Eng) 11-1,11-3,11-4; Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Salma Hany (Egy) 13-11,11-5,11-4; Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng) bt Tesni Evans (Wal) 11-7,11-6,11-5.