[1] EGYPT 2-2 [4] MALAYSIA
. Kenzy Ayman 0-3 Xing Ying Yee 4-7, 5-7, 6-7 (17m)
. Aly Abou Eleinen 3-0 Darren Pragasam 7-3, 7-6, 7-4 (26m)
. Fayrouz Aboelkheir 3-1 Aira Azman 7-4, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 (25m)
. Karim El Hammamy v Ong Sai Hung match w/d
Final : Egypt ‘retain’ their World Cup title
Eleven years on from their last World Cup triumph, also in Chennai, top seeds Egypt won the trophy again as they beat surprise finalists Malaysia 2-1.
Malaysia made a great stars as Xing Ying Yee took the opening match in straight games. Egypt srtruck back as Aly Abou Eleinen took the #1 string men’s match in straight games, and when Fayrouz Aboelkheir took a close women’s #1 match on a fourth-game sudden death point, Egypt had enough points to ensure they took the title.
Day FOUR SEMI-FINALS : Malaysia stun hosts India to join Egypt in the final
Top seeds and defending champions – albeit from 2011 – Egypt cruised into the final in Chennai as they eased past third seeded Japan in the first semi-final, dropping a solitary game in the process.
In the second semi-final hosts and second seeds India were stunned by fourth seeds Malaysia. Ong Sung Hai edged past Abhay Singh 7-6 in the decider to give Malaysia the lead, then Aira Azman beat Joshna Chinappa in straight games and the win was sealed as Darren Pragasam took out Saurav Ghosal in four games.
Day THREE : top seeds top the groups but hosts India tested
Top seeds Egypt and India both made it three wins out of three to top their groups in Chennai, but it was far from plain sailing for the hosts.
Egypt took the opening match against fourth seeds Malaysia, who levelled thanks to a five game win from Aira Azman in the top string women’s match, but the top seeds regained the lead in the second men’s match before Kenzy Ayman sealed the 3-1 win with a five game victory.
Japan took the opening match against India as Tomotaka Endo beat Abhay Singh 3-0 including two sudden-death games, and when Satome Watanabe took a 2-1 lead against Joshna Chinappa it was looking tricky for the hosts.
Chinappa fought back to level the match, but still had work to do to reach the final as Saurav Ghosal was taken to five by Ryunosuke Tsukue before giving India a 2-1 lead. Tanvi Khanna settled the crowd’s nerves with a 3-0 win in the final match to put India through to the final.
Tomorrow’s semi-finals will be Egypt v Japan and India v Malaysia.
