SEREMBAN: Racquets were thrown amidst palpable tension at the Tan Sri Dato Hj Mohd Said Sports Complex on Sunday (Aug 30).
In the end, Indian squash player Abhay Singh lifted his 13th Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour title and third Tuanku Muhriz Trophy after defeating Hong Kong's Henry Leung 11-7, 6-11, 3-11, 11-5, 12-10 in a tense 49-minute final.
He had previously been crowned champions in 2022 and 2024.
His road to the final was not simple either as he also survived a five-set match against local boy C. Ameeshenraj in the semi-finals on Saturday (Aug 29), where he triumphed 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-3 in 72 minutes.
"It’s just sports – two boys wanting to win the title in the final," said the 27-year-old Abhay.
The first set was easily won 11-7 by Abhay, who entered the fifth edition of the 15k PSA tournament as the No. 1 seed.
However, third seed Henry took control of the subsequent two sets 6-11, 3-11, leaving Abhay trailing.
Abhay secured the fourth easily but had to dig deep in the title-deciding set, where emotions were at its peak but he prevailed and instinctively threw his racquet to the ground.
"Just a couple of scratches. It should be okay," he jokingly remarked.
"I've lost to him (Henry) a couple of times before. So this is special."
Meanwhile, the women's final saw a fresh winner for the trophy as 18-year-old Egyptian Sohayla Hussein claimed her third career PSA title with a 31 minute 11-4, 11-2, 11-9 win over Heylie Fung of Hong Kong.
"I’ve never played her before so I tried watching her semi-final match to come up with a game plan. I guess it worked," said Sohayla, who was making her debut in Malaysia.
"The atmosphere really helped. I’ll definitely come back next year."
Zoey Foo and Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi who reached the quarter-finals were the best performing Malaysian females.
RESULTS
Men
Final: Abhay Singh (Ind) bt Henry Leung (Hkg) 11-7, 6-11, 3-11, 11-5, 12-10.
Semi-finals: Abhay Singh (Ind) bt C. Ameeshenraj (Mas) 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-3; Henry Leung (Hkg) bt Alex Lau (Hkg) 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-2.
Women
Final: Sohayla Hussein (Egy) bt Heylie Fung (Hkg) 11-4, 11-2, 11-9.
Semi-finals: Sohayla Hussein (Egy) bt Toby Tse (Hkg) 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7; Heylie Fung (Hkg) bt Nour Khafagy (Egy) 2-11, 11-9, 11-1, 8-11, 11-8.
