Vikram Malhotra enters final of Malaysian Tour Leg 1
USA-based Mumbai squash player Vikram Malhotra continues to impress as he made it to the final of the $5, 000 Malaysian Tour Leg 1 in Melaka on Wednesday. The 26-year-old, who is seeded fifth, upset the third seed Ben Grindrod of New Zealand, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3 in the semi-finals. The match lasted 28 minutes.
The World No. 125 will next meet the eighth seed and local hope Eain Yow Ng, who battled past his fourth-seeded compatriot Mohd Syafiq Kamal, 8-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 in the other semi-final.
Malhotra has been in impeccable form of late and won the Florida State Open in December, besides reaching the final of the Seattle Open in early March. He brought all that confidence into the Malaysian Tour Leg 1 this week and stunned the second seed Muhd Asyraf Azan in a gruelling contest in the quarter-finals, 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8.
Ravi Dixit was the only other Indian playing this tournament. The 24-year-old had bowed out in the first round, losing 11-13, 6-11, 5-11 to the second seed Muhd Asyraf Azan.