By NNN-Bernama
Petaling Jaya : It was an all Malaysian affair in the finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open squash championships as Nicol Ann David and Mohd Azlan Iskandar defeated their respective opponents to clinch a double victory for Malaysia.
Malaysia's squash queen Nicol retained her championship title for the third year running while for Mohd Azlan it was his second win, the first time in 2004.
In today's finals held in a glass court at The Curve shopping mall in Mutiara Damansara here, Nicol defeated Tania Bailey of England 9-4, 9-3 and 9-2 in 36 minutes.
"To win again in Malaysia in a new venue was simply great. After this my next goal is the Singapore Masters. It is a new tournament and I will try to retain my focus and do my best again," said the 23-year-old Penangite, who is also the reigning World Number One women's squash player.
Nicol will be vying to be the women's champion at the inaugural CIMB Singapore Masters to be held at the Kallang Squash Centre from Aug 1 to 4.
Nicol pocketed US$6,650 (RM23,052) for the win while Tania, the world number four, received US$4,725 (RM16,379).
Earlier, in the men's final, Malaysia's number two, Mohd Azlan Iskandar defeated the championships' first seed Stewart Boswell of Australia 13-11, 11-8 and 11-4 in 44 minutes.
Mohd Azlan, 25, who was the fifth seed, had no pressure playing against Boswell, who is currently ranked 13 in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) rankings.
"Winning my second title on home ground was great. I felt good throughout the match and was in form," said the Kuching-born Mohd Azlan.
For his feat, Mohd Azlan received US$5,700 (RM19,759) while Boswell took home US$3,900 (RM13,519).