MALAYSIANS carried the national flag high when four men and four women qualified for the quarter-finals of the inaugural PBA-Nusmetro 16th Asian Individual Squash Championship yesterday.

It will be all-Malaysian quarter-finals in two men's and one women's ties today at the Nicol David International Squash Centre in George Town.

World No 1 Nicol produced a splendid performance to send Singapore's junior player Jerryca Teo packing in 24 minutes, in her first match after receiving a bye in the first round.

The Singaporean put up some resistance in the second game, even leading 3-1 at one point but the experienced world champion thrashed the Singaporean 11-2, 11-6, 11-4.

She will next meet Hong Kong's Joey Chan, who defeated South Korea's Eun Tschan Ahn 11-4, 6-11, 11-7, 11-1, in the quarter-finals.

"Singaporeans are fast improving and Jerryca Teo has the potential to be a star. She captures the ball well and she if improves her returns, she will be a threat to our own juniors," said Nicol.

Joint-third seeds Low Wee Wern and Delia Arnold, and unseeded Siti Munirah Jusoh were the other Malaysians to advance.

Wee Wern plays Siti Munirah today while Delia will be up India's Dipika Pallikal.

Meanwhile, Ong Beng Hee took almost an hour to defeat compatriot Kamran Khan 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 to set up a quarter-final date with Elvinn Keo.

Elvinn was stretched to five games by Hong Kong's Dick Lau Siu-Wai before winning 11-7, 10-12, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9 in 76 minutes.

"Though I am happy with my game, performance wise it was not that good.

"I tried to finish my match fast, but that backfired which led me to make unforced errors," said Beng Hee.

Mohd Nafiizwan Mohd Adnan and Muhd Asyraf Azan also advanced and they will square off in the last eight today.

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KELANTAN kept their Super League title hopes alive and in the process put a dent in Selangor's own ambitions as Norshahrul Idlan Talaha's fifth minute goal clinched victory for the east coast side in Kota Baru on Tuesday.

Selangor looked lethargic as they struggled to find their footing. The two-time league champions tried to make a strong comeback in the second half but captain Amri Yahyah's strike, which hit the outside of the right post, was the closest they came to scoring.

Kelantan, cheered by some 25,000 frenzied fans, dominated proceedings from the start and despite conjuring up opportunities, failed to win by a bigger margin.

"Overall, it was a top quality game with two teams who really went for it, played at a high pace. The experienced players played well, so did the young ones," said Kelantan coach M. Karathu at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium after the match.

"Selangor came back strongly in the second half but we still managed to win which shows we kept our focus.

"This victory has put us back on track as we are now just two points behind Selangor. We have promised ourselves to give everything until the end of the season," added Karathu.

Karathu's decision to use the 4-5-1 formation paid dividends as the Selangor midfielders' supply of passes to their strikers was easily neutralised.

Hardi Jaafar and Amirulhadi Zainal were also both ineffective along the Selangor flanks.

"We won largely because of our defensive strategy. Selangor tried to make changes by playing long balls in the second half but we were prepared for it. We expected it from them," added Karathu.

Selangor coach K. Devan was disappointed with the way his team played: "Although it was a balanced match, I expected more from my players. They did not play their normal game. Probably they were tired after a tough match in Sabah over the weekend," said Devan.

"As for Kelantan, they had an extra day of rest before this match. They looked fresher. We wanted to break our jinx in Kota Baru but it did not happen.

"There is no need for Selangor to press the panic button following this defeat. We can bounce back from it," Devan added.

Selangor face a tricky away encounter tomorrow against Terengganu who are third in the standings.

Terengganu are always a tough nut to crack at home and Devan knows that only too well following his team's 4-0 hammering by them last season.

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