Locals Lau & Leung Land Quarter-Final Berths At Hong Kong Football Club

Local heroes Tsz Kwan Lau and Henry Leung scored thrilling five-game upsets over Abdulla Altamimi and Auguste Dussourd to advance against expectations to the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Football Club Open on day two of action.

In front of a packed-out Hong Kong Football Club arena, Lau and No.8 seed Altamimi treated the home fans to a brilliant spectacle, engaging in a string of entertaining rallies all the way through their 56-minute clash.

Despite falling 1/0 and 2/1 down, world No.44 Lau seemed to relish the opportunity of causing an upset at his home club, feeding off the crowd in the pivotal moments in the match and eventually taking the deciding game 11-7.

After his victory, Lau said: "I feel unreal at the moment because for me he is a very strong player and I think he's a top ten player in the world.

"Before the match I didn't think about winning or losing, I just wanted to perform well, but in the first game I didn't play well. Luckily with my style, I could make him tired and I feel very happy to get the win today.

"In the fifth it was a mental battle, who would get tired first, so I just kept telling myself not to make any mistakes. I just wanted to pick up every single ball and I did that."

Elsewhere, less than 24 hours after coming through a five-game duel against compatriot Wong Chi Him, Hong Kong's Leung showed no signs of fatigue, rallying from behind twice to prevail in his match against No.5 seed Dussourd in five games and 54 minutes of action.

In a fifth game that had several swings in momentum, it was Leung who eventually took the spoils 11-9, roaring in delight upon clinching his 100th victory on the PSA Tour.

In the only upset in the women's draw, Malaysia's Rachel Arnold claimed the scalp of No.8 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir after four games of hard-fought action to progress to the quarter-finals.