David & Iskandar Celebrate Local Malaysian Open Double

Malaysians Mohd Azlan Iskandar and Nicol David recorded a notable local double in Kuala Lumpur today by claiming the men's and women's trophies, respectively, in the CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championships.

The triumph marked fifth seed Iskandar's third successive upset in 48 hours. After making his breakthrough in the quarter-finals when he despatched England's defending champion Adrian Grant, the 2004 champion defeated second seed Lee Beachill in the semi-finals of the 4-star PSA Tour men's event.

In his second PSA Tour final in two months, the Sarawak-born 25-year-old survived an opening game tie-break against top seed Stewart Boswell before romping to a sensational 11-10 (3-1), 11-8, 11-4 victory over the Australian in 44 minutes.

The KL win follows Iskandar's unexpected triumph in May's North American Open in San Francisco and confirms a significant return to form for the former world No12 who currently stands at 19 in the PSA World Rankings.

The result, however, will do little to help Boswell celebrate his 29th birthday tomorrow.

The final of the women's WISPA World Tour Gold event consolidated Nicol David's status as the most consistent player in the women's game.

Remarkably, the 23 year-old from Penang was appearing in her 14th successive Tour final since reaching her first World Open climax in Hong Kong in December 2005.

Her surprise opponent Tania Bailey, the fourth seed from England, had stunned observers in the previous round by beating Australia's No2 seed Natalie Grinham in straight games.

But the Lincolnshire lass was unable to match the fire-power of the local heroine as David took just 36 minutes to win 9-4, 9-3, 9-2 and claim her country's prestigious Open title for the third time in a row.

The title success brings David's WISPA career tally to 20 titles - equalling the current haul of Dutch rival Vanessa Atkinson, but still three behind Australia's Rachael Grinham, her opponent in the KL semi-finals.

Men's final:
[5] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [1] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-10 (3-1), 11-8, 11-4 (44m)

Women's final:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [4] Tania Bailey (ENG) 9-4, 9-3, 9-2 (36m)