Double Delight For Home Heroes In Malaysian Open

It was a popular home double in the CIMB Malaysian Open today when Malaysians Nicol David and Ong Beng Hee clinched the women's and men's titles, respectively, in the major Tour squash event at the Curve Complex in Kuala Lumpur.

No stranger to Squash history-making, Nicol David added a further entry to the records by becoming the first winner of a WISPA World Tour title to be decided by the international player body's new Pro-Scoring system.

And, after taking four games to win her previous two matches, the world number one from Penang gave every indication that she is now fully comfortable with point-a-rally game scoring to 11 points by beating Tour rival Natalie Grinham 11-1, 11-4, 11-6 in just 31 minutes.

It was a battle between the two top players in the world - and David ensured that she will continue to hold the world number one ranking next month by extending her career head-to-head tally over the Australian-born world No2, now playing under the Dutch flag, to 13-6.

The victory, in her sixth successive appearance in the final, marked David's fourth Malaysian Open title in a row. The win also notched up David's 30th consecutive match success on the Tour - and her seventh successive title since winning the Qatar Classic in November.

The final of the men's 5-star PSA Tour event produced a real treat for the KL crowd surrounding the brand new Malaysian all-glass court making its debut at the Curve Shopping Mall. Second seed Ong Beng Hee faced national rival Mohd Azlan Iskandar, the defending champion who was seeded in third position.

With two titles each to their names, the final was sure to be close - and after Beng Hee took the first game, reigning champion Iskandar fought back to lead 2/1 - then came within two points of the title at 10-all in the fourth.

But Beng Hee - the first home winner of the crown in 2000, then the champion again in 2005 - regained the upper hand and went on to claim an 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8 victory after 96 minutes.

Remarkably, it was the pair's third PSA Tour match which exceeded 95 minutes - the first lasting 102 minutes, in the 2005 Malaysian Open semi-finals!

The victory takes Ong Beng Hee's career PSA Tour title tally to 12 - and is sure to see the 28-year-old return to the world top ten, and close in on the highest world ranking of seven which he established in December 2001.

Women's final:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (NED) 11-1, 11-4, 11-6 (31m)

Men's final:
[2] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [3] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8 (96m)