Singles Double In Malaysia's Sights In Taiwan

The fourth successive singles double gold medal success looms for Malaysia in the 13th Asian Championships in Chinese Taipei as Mohd Azlan Iskandar and Ong Beng Hee will contest an all-Malaysian men's final and world champion Nicol David, from Penang, reached the women's final where she will take on Hong Kong's Rebecca Chiu at the Taipei Arena in Taiwan.

Second seed Rebecca Chiu was first on the all-glass court which is erected outside a major shopping complex. The Asian Games champion started off rather tentatively against Malaysian Sharon Wee, the No3 seed who used the slower court and the cooler outdoor climate to her advantage with accurate volley drops.

After dropping the first game, Chiu got into her rhythm and soon romped home to a 6-9 9-1 9-3 9-2 win.

Nicol David showed no mercy in the other women's semi-final, cruising to a 9-0 9-1 9-0 win in just 16 minutes over sixth seed Christina Mak, from Hong Kong. Now in her fifth successive final since 1998, David is one match away from her fifth title in a row!

Men's favourite Azlan Iskandar dropped his first game of the tournament in the opener against Pakistan's fourth seed Mansoor Zaman. But the world No14 from Sarawak rattled off the next two games - then was taken to the limit in the fourth, but eventually prevailed 3-9, 9-0, 9-2, 10-8 to reach the final for the first time.

His opponent will be domestic rival Ong Beng Hee, facing his first challenge for the region's premier title after winning it on the past three occasions - in all cases beating Mansoor Zaman in the final!

In what organisers described as 'a rather physical match' with Pakistan's Shahid Zaman, Beng Hee had leads of 8-7 and 9-8 cut back by the third seed who served for the game at 9-9. But it was the Malaysian who ultimately won the game, and then the second in record time. By the third, it appeared that Zaman was unable to offer any serious resistance, and he conceded with the score at 10-9, 9-1, 3-1.

Men's semi-finals:
[1] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [4] Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 3-9, 9-0, 9-2, 10-8
[2] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [3] Shahid Zaman (PAK) 10-9, 9-1, 3-1 ret.

Women's semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [6] Christina Mak (HKG) 9-0, 9-1, 9-0 (16m)
[2] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt [3] Sharon Wee (MAS) 6-9, 9-1, 9-3, 9-2