PETALING JAYA: National squash sensation Ng Eain Yow fought back from two sets down to shock former world No 1 Karim Abdel Gawad 6-11, 3-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7 to reach the British Open quarter-finals for the first time.
Today’s result marks the world No 15’s first win in five matches against world No 16 Karim, who was the world champion in 2016.
Eain Yow, who is the reigning Asian Games champion, will face either world No 2 Paul Coll of New Zealand or world No 18 Miguel Rodriguez of Colombia for a spot in the semi-finals in Birmingham.
Despite falling back early in today’s game, Eain Yow said he was motivated by the crowd at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre to power through for a memorable win against the Egyptian.
“Look at this turnout, it’s amazing … We’ve had such good attendance (and) I think that helped a lot at 2-0 down,” said the 26-year-old.
“In some other places, I might have felt like it would have been impossible (to mount a comeback).
“(But) I know I can’t compete at the top if I don’t at least fight back, and I was just telling myself: ‘It’s probably the last match of the season, just keep fighting’.
“I just kept my head down and kept running. I just wanted to get the ball in the front court,” added the 2016 world junior champion.
He is the sole Malaysian left standing in this year’s edition of the British Open, which is the world’s oldest squash tournament. World No 15 S Sivasangari and world No 37 Aifa Azman were knocked out in the second round of the women’s competition on Monday.
Eain Yow, who landed his first Professional Squash Association World Tour title after winning the German Open 2024 in April, will be looking to become the first Malaysian to lift the British Open trophy since former world champion Nicol David’s victory in 2014. - FMT
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