Malaysia's Nicol David became the first Asian woman to win the World Open squash on Sunday, while Amr Shabana from Egypt took back the men's title he first won in 2003.
David, 22, overcame top-seeded Australian Rachael Grinham 8-10, 9-2, 9-6, 9-7 to grab her fourth major accolade of 2005.
Already this year, David was the first home winner of the Malaysian Open, the first Asian woman to take the British Open title, and on Saturday night she learnt she was to become the first Asian world number one.
"I have been building that up for the final and now I am world champion I don't know what I feel," David said after her triumph.
"I was going in there giving my all, because with Rachael you have to make sure you don't give any openings or you're in trouble."
David lost the first game as she struggled to adapt to cool conditions that made it harder to get the unresponsive ball to the back of the court. It was not until she hit the ball higher on the front wall that her length improved.
After that, she began to dominate, though Grinham fought back bravely from 2-7 to 7-7 in the final game before losing out.
There was a minor controversy in the men's final in which Shabana became the first two-time winner since the legendary Pakistani Jansher Khan more than a decade ago.
Shabana overcame David Palmer, the 2002 champion 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 but ink from the logo on his racket darkened the ball and made it harder to see.
This prompted the Australian to repeat complaints made by England's Peter Nicol who lost to Shabana in a semi-final.
Shabana said afterwards that a wrist injury which kept him out for 19 days and was followed by a second round defeat in his comeback in Doha had now worked in his favour.
"I was so low I didn't think I would be playing," he said. "I just kept saying my prayers and my family told me there may be a reason for it. And the injury gave me rest - and more energy."
The women's final was also notable for some strange incidents.
Sighting the ball was not always easy and Grinham completely missed one of David's serves. There was also a little crack near the backhand corner of the court which caused the ball to shoot alarmingly on three occasions.
There was a testing delay at 6-6 in the third game when Grinham came out of the court and challenged the referee before he came to the correct "let" decision.
There was an even longer and more bizarre delay just three points into the match, when both players complained about the slippery surface. Grinham got hold of a broom herself from a cleaner and starting brushing the floor.