India’s Abhay Singh captured the Tuanku Muhriz Trophy squash title in Malaysia on Sunday, overcoming Hong Kong’s Henry Leung in a closely fought five-game final.
The top-seeded Singh, ranked 24th in the world, defeated third seed and World No. 59 Leung 11-7, 6-11, 3-11, 11-5, 12-10 in the summit clash of the USD 15,000 PSA Challenger event. The victory earned the Indian his 13th PSA Tour title from 18 finals. Singh made the stronger start, taking the opening game 11-7, before Leung responded emphatically to win the next two 11-6 and 11-3. Facing defeat, the Indian recovered to dominate the fourth game 11-5 and force a decider.
The fifth game developed into a tight battle, with little separating the two players before Singh held his nerve at the crucial stage to seal it 12-10 and complete the comeback.
Three Malaysian players beaten en route
Singh had to negotiate a challenging path to the title after receiving a first-round bye, defeating three Malaysian players on his way to the final.
He began his campaign against Low Wa Sern in the second round. After dropping the opening game, Singh recovered strongly to register an 8-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-2 victory.
In the quarterfinals, he overcame Md Syafiq Kamal 11-4, 11-13, 11-5, 11-5 to move into the last four.
Singh then faced ninth-16th seed Ameeshenraj Chandaran in a demanding semifinal. The Indian was pushed to five games before prevailing 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-3.
The victory over Leung in the final completed a successful week for Singh, with the Indian overcoming three matches in which he dropped at least one game before lifting the trophy.