Disappointment in Houston

Hopes were high when the Pakistan squash team, captained by defending champion Hamza Khan, landed in Houston (USA) to feature in the 2024 WSF World Junior Squash Championships.

The left-handed Hamza was seen as the firm favourite to retain the individual title while Pakistan’s quartet was regarded as one of the leading contenders for the team crown.

Stunning loss

But there was disappointment for Pakistan as the country’s challenge in the championship fizzled out before the last-four stage with even Hamza crashing to a disappointing loss in the quarter-finals.

Peshawar’s Hamza, who became the first Pakistani squash player in 37 years to win the world junior title in Melbourne in 2022, was toppled by South Korea’s Joo Young Na in a five-game thriller. In the process of his 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 3-11, 11-5 triumph in 66 minutes, Na became the first player from his country to reach the semifinals of the World Junior Championships.

Meanwhile, Hamza’s compatriot Abdullah Nawaz was thrashed by Egyptian top seed Mohamad Zakaria 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-3 in just 31 minutes. Zakaria, 16, who lost to Hamza in the final in Melbourne, went on to win the title.

Can Pakistan bounce back in team event?

Pakistan will need to quickly put aside the disappointment of the individual event and regroup for the team event which rolled into action on Thursday.

The former champions will be looking to regain the title but it would be an uphill task considering that Egypt will be the hot favourites to defend the crown on July 23. The likes of Hamza Khan, who is the only second Pakistan after the mighty Jansher Khan to win the world junior title, will need to give their best foot forward if Pakistan are to win the world team title next week.