Squash AIS Athlete Ryan Cuskelly Wins
16 Mar 2009
Cuskelly wins Malaysian title
Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly (AIS - SQUASH) won his third professional squash title and his first since May 2007 when he downed Pakistan’s Waqar Mehboob in straight games to take out the Malaysian International squash tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Cuskelly fought hard to win the opening two games then raced away with the third to take the match 11-7, 11-8, 11-3.
The 21-year-old from Evans Head in northern New South Wales has long been considered one of the leading newcomers in Australian squash.
He won the Australian junior title in 2006 then burst onto the professional scene in 2007 with victories at the Top End Open in Darwin and the City of Perth International.
He reached number 59 in the world in 2008 before some indifferent form and an ankle injury saw him drop down the list, although he never went lower than his current ranking of 69.
But since moving to New York at the start of the year Cuskelly has rediscovered his touch, reaching the final of the St Louis International in January and qualifying for the main draw of the prestigious North American Open last month.
Cuskelly will stay in Malaysia for two more PSA tournaments before heading back to North American and the Rochester Pro-Am in early April.
In the women’s final, England’s Lauren Briggs dashed local hopes when she downed Sharon Wee 11-4, 11-3, 11-8.
Final results (prefix denotes seeding):
Men
2-Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt 7-Waqar Mehboob (PAK) 11-7, 11-8, 11-3
Women
1-Lauren Briggs (ENG) bt 2-Sharon Wee (MAS) 11-4, 11-3, 11-8
