Thursday March 21, 2013
Beng Hee out to exact revenge on champ Omar
By ASHREENA PILLAI
PETALING JAYA: Revenge will be on national No. 1 Ong Beng Hee’s mind when he opens his campaign in the CIMB KL Open squash championship from March 26-31.
Beng Hee is set to face defending champion and world No. 9 Omar Mosaad of Egypt in the first round.
In January, Mosaad beat Beng Hee 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 in the second round of the J. P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York.
The pair have previously met on four occasions with Mosaad holding a 3-1 lead and world No. 22 Beng Hee will be looking to close that gap with a win this time around.
“I’m playing the defending champion in the first round. So it’s definitely going to be a very tough match. I’m confident of playing well against him. I lost to him in January so I’ll be gunning for revenge this time” said Beng Hee.
“He’s world No. 9, so it’s not going to be easy. I will have to find a way to get an edge over him. I have to fight for every point. I have to try to stay in the match for as long as I can and try to break him mentally and physically,” he added.
Beng Hee has been boosted by a recent good run of form after making it into the last-16 of the Kuwait PSA Cup last week and will be hoping to do well in the KL Open.
“I think if I stay healthy and injury free, I can play better,” said Beng Hee.
“Win or lose, it’s very important for me to prove that I can cut it with the world’s Top 10 and Top 20 players,” said Beng Hee, whose highest ranking was No. 7 in the world.
Apart from Mosaad, the men’s draw will feature three other top 10 players – Egyptians Karim Darwish and Mohamed El Shorbagy as well as Spain’s Borja Golan. The Malaysian charge will be led by Beng Hee and national No. 3 Asyraf Azan who was given a wild card entry into the first round.
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