again good memories from KL

i had a great time again i KL, the food was great, hotel was superb everything was just perfect. my first round match was a good starting match, which i won rather comfortably in 3 games.

the 2nd match was rather close. i played pakistans waquar mehboob, a young skillful player. i lost the opening game 9-11.  wasnt feeling very well that day, i comitted more mistakes than usual and wasnt feeling as fresh and quick as normally. but i managed to get back and win the second 11-8,. the 3rd game was similar to the first and i lost it 8-11. the 4th game was very crucial. at 8-8 i was lucky with 2 decisions given by the referees, as two 50-50 decision went my way–>11-8. in the 6th i started very well to get a 10-5 leed, but he managed to fight back to 10-10, where at a long really his string broke, giving me matchball.. then we had a brutal really which i finished with a shot behind my back to win the point and the match..

in the semis i faced malaysia’s ashraf.. it wasnt a nice game, but i knew it wasnt gonna be a nice one. he is the kind of player asking for a lot of lets, and slowing the pace down and using a lot of tricks to get some extra, cheap points.. i won in 4 after 65 min 11-3, 11-13, 11-7, 13-11.

in the final i played steven finitsis from australia.. we had a few practise games befor the tournament started, of which i havent won a single one of then.. but luckily it was only trainig,, that doesnt say anything about the reality. i should have won the final 3-0 but i let him come back into all the games. the opening game was easy, some tough reallies in the beginning to give me a comfortable lead. the 2nd game was similar, i was leading 10-5, afterwards i committed 5 mistakes in a row and finally i lost the game. the following 3 games were hardly fought, some spectacular reallies, good squash at a high pace. i was happy to win the game in 5 games after 60min 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7.

in all i had a great tournament and i am really looking forward to get back to KL the next time!! people here are so nice and friendly, i enjoyed every single second of my stay. ok well, my journey back home wasnt the best to be honest, as i had to wait 10h at dubai airport for the connecting flight. but still, this doesnt affect my positive images about the tournament.

greetings