Pakistan storms into Round of 16 of World Team Squash Championship

Pakistan on Monday conquered both tricky Hong Kong and debutant Peru with an identical scoreline of 2-1 to blast their way into the top 16 of the WSF World Team Squash Championship being held at the Hong Kong Football Club in Hong Kong, China.

Pakistan defeated Hong Kong 2-1 in the toughest fixture which saw players of both sides putting in their best.

In the first game Pakistan’s top player and World No 59 Mohammad Asim Khan went down to Hong Kong’s Alex Lau 2-3 after a tough battle which lasted for 64 minutes.

After losing the first set 5-11, Asim fought back strongly and secured an 11-7 victory to make it 1-1. Lau, who is World No 40, then won the third set to once again take lead. However, Asim did well in the fourth set by winning it 13-11 to square the show 2-2. Lau, however, made a good start in the decisive set and won it quite convincingly 11-4 to seal a solid 3-2 win.

The set score was 11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-4 in Lau’s favor.

However, it was Noor Zaman who brought the parity for Pakistan when he defeated a better-ranked player Henry Leung 3-2 after a tough game. After losing the first set 7-11, Noor levelled the score by winning the next set 11-8. Henry then took the lead again by crafting an 11-5 victory before Noor staging a nice fightback with an 11-4 triumph to make it 2-2.

Noor played in a disciplined way in the final set which he won 11-6 to seal an emphatic victory.

The set score was 7-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-4, 11-6 in Noor’s favor. The match lasted for 44 minutes.

Seasoned and World No 79 Nasir Iqbal then whacked World No 109 Chi Him Wong 3-0 to seal Pakistan’s solid 2-1 win in the fixture.

Nasir won all the three sets with an identical score of 11-5 to complete a remarkable win.

Earlier Pakistan were off to a perfect start in their Group H when they conquered debutant Peru 2-1.

Pakistan’s seasoned campaigner Nasir Iqbal defeated Alonso Escudero of Peru 3-0 in just 23 minutes with the set score being 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 to provide a solid start to the Green-shirts.

Meanwhile Noor Zaman defeated Rafael Galvez after a stiff resistance 3-2. Noor, who recently lifted the CAS International Squash event in Islamabad, made a bright start by lifting the first two sets 11-1 and 11-4. However, Galvez fought back strongly and went on to win the next two sets 15-13, 13-11 to level the score 2-2. Noor, however, played with more discipline and secured a 13-11 victory in the fifth set to seal a much-needed triumph. The show lasted for 58 minutes.

Mohammad Asim Khan, who is 59th in the world, lost his game against the world champion Diego Elias 3-0.

The reigning world champion got the better of Asim in just 21 minutes with the set score being 4-11, 2-11 and 3-11.

Pakistan will now face Italy in their third and last group fixture on Tuesday (tomorrow). Italy lost both their initial games against Hong Kong and Peru in straight games.

India make good start

Meanwhile in Group C, India also made a solid start by beating Ireland 2-1.

India did not have a good start when their player Abhay Singh lost to Ireland’s Sam Buckley 3-0 inside just 34 minutes with the game score being 11-3, 11-9, 11-6.

However, India staged a smart fightback with a 3-0 win from Velaxvan Senthilkumar inside 29 minutes to level the score. The game score was 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 in Velaxvan’s favor.

Veer Chotrani then completed India’s victory with a 3-0 win over Oisin Logan with the game score being 11-4, 11-3, 11-8.

Columbia are the others in India’s group.

As many as 26 teams will flex their muscles in the event which have been clubbed in eight groups.

Defending champions Egypt have been clubbed in Group A with Spain and Japan; Group B contains five-time former champions England, Canada and Nigeria while Group C carries France, Czech Republic and Korea.

Switzerland are in Group D along with eight-time winners Australia and South Africa; Group E features Malaysia, Scotland and Philippines while Colombia, India and Ireland have been placed in Group F.

United States have been put in Group G with Germany, China and Kuwait while Pakistan are in Group H along with Hong Kong, Peru and Italy.

The top two teams from each pool will progress to the round of 16