RESULTS: Buler Challenge Squash Cup, Hong Kong
Men’s semi-finals:
Leo Au (HKG) bt [4] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 8-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-9 (53m)
[3] Kamran Khan (MAS) bt [2] Dick Lau (HKG) 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4 (90m)
Women’s semi-finals:
[1] Annie Au (HKG) bt [3] Delia Arnold (MAS) 7-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2, 11-6 (37m)
[2] Donna Urquhart (AUS) bt [4] Joey Chan (HKG) 7-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 12-10 (47m)
An Au Hong Kong double is now on the cards after siblings Annie Au and Leo Au reached the finals of the Buler Challenge Cup following successes in today’s (Friday) semi-finals of the international squash event in Hong Kong.
Unseeded Leo Au caused his third successive upset in the men’s $6,000 PSA World Tour event when he beat Egypt’s Omar Abdel Meguid, the fourth seed, 8-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-9.
Now celebrating his third appearance in a PSA Tour final, the 20-year-old world No174 will face third seed Kamran Khan.
The 20-year-old Malaysian denied the crowd an all-Hong Kong final by upsetting second seed Dick Lau 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4 in a 90-minute marathon.
Khan, son of the legendary Pakistani Jansher Khan, is also marking his third Tour final appearance - but his first outside his home country.
Top seed Annie Au was expected to reach the final of the women’s $16,000 WISPA World Tour event – but the world No17 was taken the full distance by third seed Delia Arnold before beating the Malaysian 7-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2, 11-6 to reach her 11th Tour final.
The Hong Kong left-hander will now face second seed Donna Urquhart, the 23-year-old Australian who has moved ahead of the event favourite in the September world rankings.
But Urquhart twice had to come from behind to fight off the challenge of Hong Kong’s Joey Chan. The world No16 from Brisbane notched up her tenth appearance in a WISPA Tour final when she defeated fourth seed Chan 7-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 12-10 in 47 minutes.