Nicol, Beng Hee claim national title

Top seed Nicol outclassed Wee Wern in a gruelling one hour and seven minutes' match with 11-8, 11-5, 7-11 and 11-8.

"In the first two games, I just felt the ball and got my rhythm. In the mean time, Wee Wern managed to get her top form and was moving well. The pace was tight, so I really had to use my strength and take any opportunity there was, to score points.

"I had nothing to lose and she too wanted the national title. I might be too eager at times and made a couple of errors," said the seven-time world champion, who turned 30 on Aug 26.

It was Nicol's third national title after she won it in 2010 and 2011.

For her win, Nicol pocketed RM6,000 and a trophy while Wee Wern as the runner-up, took home RM3,000. Meanwhile, the country's top men's player Ong Beng Hee defended his title after beating Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan in a dramatic and gruelling match.

The 33-year-old Beng Hee encountered a tense match which lasted an hour and 31 minutes before emerging victorious with 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 9-11 and 11-6.

"When I was leading the match at 2-0, I was thinking about winning the match which I should not do. He started playing very well in the third and fourth game. Luckily, I managed to re-focus in the fifth game.

"I think, mentally, it was very hard. It shows that squash is a tough sport because if you are not focused, you can easily lose the game. I demonstrated that today and that is something which I have to work on," said Beng Hee.

Winning his second national title, Beng Hee pocketed RM10,000 and a trophy.

Mohd Nafiizwan took home RM5,000.

Beng Hee noted that the match was really a tune-up in his preparation for the 2013 CIMB Malaysian Open on Sept 10 to 15, where they have been drawn to play each other once again, in the first round.