Harley Lam and Cheng Nga Ching have both secured their first titles on Tour, as they were victorious at the KCC PSA Challenge Cup at Kowloon Cricket Club in Hong Kong.
Ching started her week with a confident, 14-minute performance against Helen Tang before then needing to go the distance in the quarter finals. She took on No.6 seed Fung Ching Hei, and eventually after 69 minutes, and two lengthy tie-breaks, the top seed made the last four.
From there, it was much more simple for the 21-year-old, who overcame No.5 seed Wong Po Yui Kirstie in straight games, before then defeating No.3 seed Toby Tse in a four game final to take her maiden PSA Tour title.
Apart from a single result on the opening day, the men’s draw went to seeding. The unseeded Law Arthur Pak Ki got the better of No.7 seed Murakami Akifumi in a five-game battle that lasted more than an hour.
Harley Lam, the men’s top seed, downed Lo Chun Yu Kelvin in straight games on the first day, before needing four games to overcome the challenge of No.8 seed Andes Ling to make it through to the last four.
A 65-minute five-gamer came in the semis against No.4 seed Wailok To, with three tie-breaks in the middle of the contest, before Lam took the final game 11-9 to move into the final, where he took on Matthew Lai. He downed the No.2 seed in 50 minutes, winning 3-1 to secure his first Tour title.
Result: KCC PSA Challenge Cup
Men’s Final
[1] Harley Lam (HKG) bt [2] Matthew Lai (HKG) 3-1: 11-7, 3-11, 11-4, 11-7 (50m)
Women’s Final
[1] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt [3] Toby Tse (HKG) 3-1: 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 (31m)
Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Harley Lam (HKG) bt [4] Wailok To (HKG) 3-2: 11-3, 10-12, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9 (65m)
[2] Matthew Lai (HKG) bt [3] Chung Yat Long (HKG) 3-2: 11-5, 9-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4 (47m)
Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt [5] Wong Po Yui Kirstie (HKG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 (24m)
[3] Toby Tse (HKG) bt Renee Wu (HKG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-8 (26m)
Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Harley Lam (HKG) bt [8] Andes Ling (HKG) 3-1: 10-12, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (50m)
[4] Wailok To (HKG) bt [5] Ho Ka Hei (…….