Hong Kong’s Ming Hong Tang and Pakistan’s Muhammad Asim Khan both prevailed in five-game thrillers to advance to the semi-finals of the PSA World Championships Asian Qualifying at the Hong Kong Football Club.
Unseeded Tang, who downed No.7 seed Hamza Khan with an impressive display in the previous round, continued his dream run of securing a spot at the flagship PSA Squash Tour event following an 11-9, 6-11, 11-2, 5-11, 11-9 victory over compatriot Sing Fung Lam.
Despite twice being pegged back from a game up, World No.144 Tang held his nerve in the deciding moments of the fifth game to book his spot in the last four.
Tang will face Muhammad Asim Khan in the next round, after the No.2 seed came through an equally thrilling five-game bout with No.6 seed Chi Him Wong. In similar circumstances to Tang, Khan twice let leads slip to see the match head to a deciding game, but from 9-9 clinched two points to seal the victory after 59 minutes of play.
Top seed Sanjay Jeeva and No.8 seed Joachim Chuah were the other two players to advance in the men’s event, after they claimed respective wins over No.5 seed Duncan Lee and unseeded Malaysian Mohammad Syafiq Kamal.
Meanwhile, in the women’s event, unseeded Hong Konger Heylie Fung joined top seed Ainaa Amani, No.2 seed Toby Tse and No.6 seed Helen Tang in the semi-finals of the qualifying event.
Fung, who stunned No.4 seed Yasshmita Jadishkumar in the previous round, continued her fine form thanks to a straight-games win over Malaysia’s Sehveetrraa Kumar, taking the match by an 11-3, 11-9, 11-7 scoreline. Fung will face Malaysia’s Amani in the last four, after the latter defeated No.5 seed Tanvi Khanna in three games.
The bottom half of the draw saw No.6 seed Tang claim a 3-0 win over Hong Kong compatriot Po Yui Kirstie Wong, and No.2 Tse hold off Japan’s Akari Midorikawa in four games.
For more information on the PSA Squash Tour, follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp and LinkedIn. Watch the semi-finals unfold live on SQUASHTV from 14:00 (GMT+8).
