KUALA LUMPUR: Nicol David kept alive her bid for a ninth World Championship title after a hard-won battle with Asian rival Annie Au in Manchester yesterday. Former World No 1 Nicol downed Hong Kong's Au 11-7, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6 in 33 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals where she faces second seed Raneem El Weleily tomorrow. "I knew she (Au) would fight for some of the game and I know she is gifted in the court," said Nicol, who last won the world title in 2014 in Cairo. "I am really pleased with the way I played today and in the fourth game I knew I just had to keep the pressure on. Egyptian El Weleily, a two-time World Championship runner-up, reached the last-eight with an 11-5, 15-13, 11-13, 11-5 win over England's Victoria Lust in the second round.

Source: New Strait Times December 14, 2017 11:15 UTC