Squash gold for Ong

In a closely fought encounter, which could have gone either way, Ong prevailed 5-9, 9-1,10-9, 9-5. Iskander began the stronger, winning a series of long rallies and he was good value for his first set win. But thereafter things went awry for the top seed and Ong began to dictate terms.

Iskander used gamesmanship on several occasions, prompting a number of lets during the match, but he was unable to disturb the concentration of Ong. Indeed it was Iskander who cracked first, throwing his racket to the ground in the crucial third game, which Ong just edged.

With Nicole Ann David's comfortable victory in the women's singles earlier in the day, Malaysia cleaned up on the courts, much to the delight of their supporters.

After the game, Ong said, "We've both done well. There were Malaysian finalists in both events. There were also a lot of VIPs here tonight, I see a lot of relieved faces!

"It's good to win, you never know when you can win another Asian Games gold medal. I was very nervous, I think he was very nervous too. I was very lucky to win the third game 10-9. If Azlan had won the third game 10-9, then it might have been a different story.

"I didn't think I played very well, but this was a tough match against a tough opponent who can easily dominate the court. I tried to use my mobility to move my opponent around the court."

Iskander said, "I just hit too many errors, made too many mistakes. It's not rocket science.

"I've been mentally tired. But the best athletes have to back it up every match. The objective is to win, simple."

15th Asian Games, Doha 2006