Nicol lost 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 reigning world junior champion Nouran Gohar of Egypt (not pictured) in the quarter-finals of China Open.
PETALING JAYA: It will be a long journey to regain the top spot for Malaysian squash queen Nicol David.
That was evident as Nicol, now the world No. 2, suffered another blow after she crashed out in the quarter-finals of the China Open in Shanghai.
Having been dethroned by Egypt’s Raneem El Welily, this time it was reigning world junior champion Nouran Gohar, also of Egypt, who dealt the Penangite a 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 defeat on Friday.
Nicol, who turned 32 last week, actually started strongly against world No.13 Nouran, taking the first set 11-9.
Nouran, still only 17, however showed just why she’s regarded as one of the brightest prospects in the sport as she fought back superbly for her first ever win against the eight-time world champion.
The Egyptian will meet world No.3 Camille Serme of France - the British Open champion, in the semi-finals.
For Nicol, the defeat means it will take a while before she can regain the top spot in women’s squash - a position she held for 109 consecutive months.
It will also be the first time that the China meet is not won by a Malaysian. National No.2 Low Wee Wern won the tournament three times - 2011, 2012 and 2014 while Nicol claimed the 2013 title.
Earlier, Raneem enjoyed a breeze in the quarter-finals as her opponent - Hong Kong’s Annie Au, retired midway through the match with an hamstring injury.
The 26-year-old Raneem was leading 11-2, 11-0 when world No.10 Annie decided to call it quits.
The second seeded Raneem who is gunning for her fourth title of the year, will take on American player Amanda Sobhy in the semi-finals.
The left-handed Sobhy played a dominant game as she overpowered England’s world No. 11 Emma Beddoes 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 in 40 minutes.
In the men’s event, Hong Kong’s Leo Au - Annie’s younger brother, extended his giant-killing run by dumping world No.9 Mathieu Castagnet of France by the wayside.
The Asian champion who came through the qualifiers had earlier beaten world No.7 Simon Rosner of Germany in the first round.
And the world No. 33 continued to shine as he beat Castagnet 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6 to reach the semi-finals for the first time. He will meet second seed Gregory Gaultier, also of France.
