Men’s $12k PSA Challenger, 26-29 Dec, Doha, Qatar
Final:
[1] Yahya Elnawasany 3-0 [2] Henry Leung (HKG) 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (43m)
Egypt’s Yahya Elnawasany continued his late year form with a second win in as many weeks in Doha, as he claimed the QSF 4 crown. The Egyptian had won the QSF 3 last week, and came into this week’s tournament as the top seed, giving him a bye through to the second round, which also took place on the opening day of the event.
From there, he got the better of compatriots Yassin Elshafei and Seif Shenawy, both in four games, to make it into the last four of the competition, where he then defeated Qatari No.2 Syed Azlan Amjad in straight games.
The final was also a straightforward win for the Egyptian, as he came up against Hong Kong’s Henry Leung, who had battled it out for almost 70 minutes in the semis and was feeling the effects.
The win is Elnawasany’s second of the season, and fourth of 2021, to go with his previous victories at the Egyptian Challenger Tour #2, CIB Egyptian Challenger Tour 3 and the QSF 3, which he won last week.
The Challenger 10 level tournament will follow the exact same running order as last week’s event, and once again Yahya Elnawasany, the winner on Thursday, will be the top seed for this week’s event.
The only difference in the draw is that there is an influx of Hongkongers, following the Hong Kong Football Club Christmas PSA, which took place last week. Chi Him Wong, who won the event, will be one of five from the Asian nation among the top eight seeds.
He will be joined by Henry Leung, Tsz Kwan Lau, Max Lee and Tang Ming Hong in this week’s draw in Doha, while Mazen Gamal and Qatari No.2 Syed Azlan Amjad make up the rest of the top eight seeds.
