Ong has to win M'sia Open to get sponsorship deal
Thursday July 17, 2008
Ong has to win M'sia Open to get sponsorship deal
KUALA LUMPUR: National number one Ong Beng Hee (pic) is seeking a sponsorship deal. And to clinch it, he has to win the Malaysian Open squash title next week to break into the top 10 in the world rankings.
The 28-year-old Beng Hee is now in 11th spot and the last time he got among the top 10 was in January 2003 at No. 8. His career best was in seventh spot in December 2001.
“Sponsors have pledged that they will support me if I get into the top 10 bracket again. To do it, I have to win the Malaysian Open and I will go all out to achieve it,'' said Beng Hee, who became the first Malaysian man to win the “home” tournament in 2000.
The qualifying rounds of the championships (July 21-22) and the first round (July 23) will be held at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil. The following round matches from July 24-26 will be held at the Curve in Mutiara Damansara.
Two-time champion Beng Hee is the second seed behind world number nine Wael El Hindi of Egypt. Defending champion Mohd Azlan Iskandar, who is ranked 13th in the world, is the third seed.
Beng Hee, who last won the title in 2005 beating El Hindi in the final, will play against a qualifier in the first round. In the same half are seventh seed Farhan Mehboob of Pakistan and fourth seed Stewart Boswell of Australia.
He said that he had beaten all three players before and with the home crowd support, he was confident of getting the better of them again.
Beng Hee's last title on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) circuit was the Kuala Lumpur Open in March.
He was the fourth seed and upset top seed Boswell in the semi-finals and third seed Azlan in the final. It was his 11th career title.
World number one and top seed Nicol David will be seeking to win the Malaysian Open for the fourth consecutive time. Delia Arnold is the other Malaysian in the main draw as a wild card entry.
