Countback Drama As Japan Upset Rivals Malaysia To Reach World Cup Semis

Japan pipped rivals Malaysia to a spot in the semi-finals of the SDAT World Cup by the finest of margins as they joined hosts India, defending champions Egypt and top seeds Hong Kong in the last four in Chennai.

In a blockbuster tie that swung one way and the next, a single game proved the difference in the mixed team event as the No.4 seeds edged through by a single game on 'Games Won' countback after the tie finished 2/2 in matches.

World No.33 Aifa Azman looked to have got Malaysia off to a perfect start when she took the first two games of the first match against Akari Midorikawa.

The diminutive world No.103 fought back fiercely though, snatching what would later prove to be two vital game wins to level before Azman steadied the ship in game five to put Malaysia ahead in the tie.

Match two, between men's first strings Ryunosuke Tsukue and Ameeshenraj Chandaran, flipped the script on its head as Japan's Tsukue eked out a five-game win after initially taking a 2/0 lead.

In her best showing of the tournament so far, Japan's world No.6 Satomi Watanabe powered her side into a healthy lead with a 3/0 victory over world No.26 Aira Azman, crucially rescuing a four-point deficit in game two en-route to the win.

That result meant that Malaysia's only route to victory was for men's second string Mohammad Syafiq Kamal to record a straight games win over Tomotaka Endo while also scoring at least five more points than the Japan No.2.

In a heroic display from Kamal, the Malaysian saved three game - effectively match - balls in game one and then took game two 7-4 to put the sides level on matches, games and points.

With the points now totally level, game three became winner-takes-all.

To the joy of the crowd bench, Endo - who had been struggling with a stomach issue yesterday - found the higher gear he needed and the 28-year-old dragged Japan into the semis by taking game three 7-3, making Kamal's own 7-3 win in game four to win the match scant consolation for the dejected Malaysian.

Afterwards, Endo said: "It was a huge win as a team, everyone fought so hard. Even in the first match, I didn't predict [Midorikawa] was going to play five games at 2/0 down, and then Ryunosuke made sure he won and Satomi just smashed it. So I went in to mine thinking 'just one game'.

"It is definitely a team effort as I lost, but the team won.

"Malaysia is always the greatest team in Asia. We believe they are our rival, although I don't think they think so! It is a great honour to beat them for us and the Japan squash community."

Japan will face Hong Kong in their semi-final, after the top seeds proved far too strong for debutants Switzerland, getting off court in a total of 50 minutes in a 3/0 win.

The other semi-final promises to be another classic, with hosts India set to take on defending champions Egypt after beating South Africa.

India is represented by three Chennai locals in the four-player squad and the team fed off the raucous energy of the crowd tonight. Indian No.1 Abhay Singh in particular played to the occasion, conducting the Express Avenue crowd into a frenzy after his entertaining 7-1, 7-6, 7-1 win against Dewald Van Niekerk, which came either side of 3/0 wins for Joshna Chinappa and Anahat Singh.
Egypt, meanwhile, continued to stream roll their way through the competition, with Nardine Garas, Adam Hawal and Nour Heikal proving too much to handle for Australia, who were hunting a first World Cup title since 1996.

"Tomorrow will be a very tough match. The Egyptians are known for their attacking style of play and we'll have to come up with something extra special and dig really deep," India National Coach Harinder Pal Sandhu said afterwards.

The semi-finals of the SDAT Squash World Cup take place tomorrow, 13 December, from 15:00 at Express Avenue Mall, Chennai.

Playoff ties are also taking place live from 10:30 at Express Avenue and the Indian Squash Academy.