Duncan fails to add to trophy cabinet after losing in Japan

Too fast, too furious: Duncan Lee falls to Samuel Osborne-Wylde of England in the Japan Open.

PETALING JAYA: Duncan Lee came close to getting his fourth squash title of the year but fell short in the Japan Open final yesterday.

The 23-year-old lost 6-11, 10-12, 5-11 to third seed Samuel Osborne-Wylde of England as Duncan at the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building Triangle Square in Tokyo.

The world No. 105 Duncan was happy to have made it to the final.

“I loved playing here with the crowd’s support. Thanks to everyone who made this happen,” he said.

“I have to thank my opponent as well because he really pushed me to go hard, and I’m glad to have played with him.”

It was the first time both players had met on court, but Osborne-Wylde knew Duncan would be a tough opponent.

“I knew it was going to be tough because Duncan has been playing well with some really good results,” said Osborne-Wylde.

“Even though we haven’t played before this, I knew he was a very solid player. It was a clean match and I really enjoyed it.”

En route to the final, Duncan had beaten eighth seed Wong Chi Him of Hong Kong (second round), second seed Ryunosuke Tsukue of Japan (quarter-finals) and seventh seed Yassin Shohdy of Egypt (semis).

Before the Japan stint, Duncan won the SEA Cup in Bangkok in July, the National Championships title in Penang and the Reliance PSA Challenger 6K in India last month.