Callum Captures Christchurch Crown

New Zealand's Callum O'Brien captured his second PSA Tour title in style on home soil when he defeated Egypt's Amr Ramzy Swelim in the final of the South Island Championship in Christchurch.

O'Brien, the second seed, held off a stiff challenge from the seventh-seeded Egyptian to win 17-14 13-5 15-13 17-14.

The 21-year-old kiwi was understandably thrilled with his victory, after very nearly pulling out on the eve of the tournament. "I almost decided not to fly down to Christchurch, after rolling my ankle at training on Thursday. Thankfully I decided to give it a go, and the injury's come right as the tournament progressed."

O'Brien is confident his ankle has come through the weekend without any damage, and is expecting to line up at the Auckland Open next weekend, with more PSA ranking points on offer.

Amr Ramzy Swelim, 20, from Cairo, pulled off the biggest upset in the tournament when he defeated defending champion Kashif Shuja, the New Zealand-based No1 seed from Pakistan, in straight games in the quarter-finals. He then bounced back from two games down in the semi-finals to beat fourth-seeded Julian Illingworth, from the USA, in five games.