PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Pakistan started their World Squash Team Championship campaign on a winning note as they thrashed Russia 3-0 in their Group C opener at Mulhouse, France yesterday.
Pakistan, seeded 14th at the event, got off to the perfect start as Farhan Zaman defeated Aleksander Shilov 11-3, 11-2, 11-1 in just 16 minutes before Nasir Iqbal ensured victory by dismissing Valery Litvinko in just 20 minutes with a scoreline of 11-6, 11-1, 11-3.
With victory in the bag, coach Jamshed Gul decided to rest senior player Farhan Mehboob and give a chance to Sheikh Saqib who did not disappoint and beat Dmitri Grishanin.
“It’s nice to get off to a good start in an important event as it eases the nerves,” Gul told The Express Tribune. “But we cannot get carried away because Russia are minnows and our real test will be against France and the Netherlands. We need to win at least one of those matches to ensure we progress to the knockout stage.”
The coach added that Mehboob would be the key player in the remaining group matches and the rest he got against Russia will keep him fresh for the tougher games.
“According to the draw, Mehboob will be playing third seeds of other teams so we’re confident of securing at least one point.”
In other matches of the group, third-seeded France beat the Netherlands 3-0. Top-seeds and defending champions Egypt made light work of Kuwait as they sailed to a straight-games victory in Group A.
In Group B, second-seeded England registered an easy win against Colombia 3-0, while fourth-seeded Australia won with a similar scoreline against Switzerland in Group D.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2013.
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