26 November 2004	Friday	13 Shawwal 1425

KARACHI, Nov 25: Third seed Ong Beng Hee from Malaysia stormed in from behind to land the Chief Of The Naval Staff International squash trophy beating unseeded Shahid Zaman in five games at the Pakistan Naval Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex before a jam-packed audience on Thursday.

The two players received a grand ovation when they progressed towards the court and Shahid soon had the home crowd roaring their approval winning the first game 11-6.

With the huge gathering applauding each point, Shahid ran up a 4-2 lead which soon increased to 7-4 when Beng Hee had a stroke awarded against him. With service in hand, Shahid sent in a beautiful cross court smash which sent his opponent the wrong way.

The third seed did manage to secure one more point before Shahid with a flurry of powerful strokes was on game point leading 10-5. Beng Hee with two delicate drop shots and backhand smashes closed the gap 8-10, only to see Shahid win the second game 8-11, when the third seed hit the ball into the tin.

Trailing 0-2 and quite aware that the match was slipping away, Beng Hee ran up a 2-0 lead. Shahid matching his opponent was on level terms at 3-3. Resorting to a series of drop shots, the Malaysian raced ahead 8-3 and although Shahid tried his level best to stem the rot, he lost the third game 11-6.

In a better frame of mind and throwing caution to the wind, Beng Hee ran up a 5-2 lead in the crucial fourth game. Shahid executing two fine backhand smashes closed the gap 4-5. But this time Shahid was not getting away with his bumping and blocking tactics during rallies. Two strokes were awarded against him under the watchful eye of referee Tahir Khanzada, as he sunk deeper into the mire.

Continuing on his winning way, Beng Hee soon equalised the game scores 2-2, by picking up the fourth 11-5. Like a marauding hawk circling its prey, Beng Hee now completely in control of the proceedings moved in for the kill and was soon in front 5-0 in the final game, with some delicate drop shots, which forced the tiring Shahid make numerous errors on the tin.

Trailing 2-6 Shahid managed to earn one more point when a stroke was awarded against Beng Hee and presented the home crowd with a glimmer of hope as he closed in 5-7. But this was as far as he could get. Beng Hee continued his ruthless attack and soon Shahid had the wind blown out of is sails, when a powerful backhand smash caught him on the wrong foot.

Beng Hee threw up his hand in jubilation, winning the final encounter 6-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5, as the sporting crowd cheered to the echo. Ironically Beng Hee throughout the tournament lost the first two games against his opponents only to stage a remarkable recovery right up to the final. On other hand unseeded Shahid during all is matches won the first two games, only this time he failed to click in the last game in the final.

Ong Beng Hee received the winning trophy along with a purse for US$ 4118.00 while Shahid Zaman had to be content with the runner-up trophy along with a cash prize of US$ 2860.00 The two semifinalists Adrian Grant (England) and Graham Ryding (Canada) each received a purse for US$ 1870.00

The 24-year-old Malaysian born in Penang said that he trains in England under an English coach and has already won seven PSA titles the last being the Swedish Open in 2003.

Although he has a world ranking of No.13, Beng Hee is the top ranked player in Asia. He said that he has been to Pakistan many times the first time at the age of 14 and was full of praise for the Pakistani hospitality.

FOLLOWING WAS THE FINAL RESULT: Ong Beng Hee (Malaysia) bt Shahid Zaman (Pakistan) 6-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5.