Asian Squash Team Championship: Pakistan through to final after India win

Overcome arch-rivals 2-1 to book title decider against Hong Kong.

KARACHI: Pakistan beat arch-rivals India 2-1 in the semi-final of 18th Asian Squash Team Championship to set up a final clash with Hong Kong which will be played today in Taiwan.

In the clash of the top seeds, Farhan Zaman was beaten 3-2 by Harinder Pal Sandhu.

It was Zaman who had a better opening in the match as he easily won the first frame, but Sandhu came back strongly to go 2-1 up.

Zaman somehow managed to keep himself in the tie when he made it 2-2, but Sandhu comfortable won the decider to wrap the match with overall scores of 4-11, 11-8, 11-7, 10-12 and 11-6.

Following the loss in the first game, it came down to Pakistan’s senior-most player Farhan Mehboob to keep his side in the contest. And he did not disappoint as he thrashed Velavan Senthilkumar 3-1 by a scoreline of 11-5, 11-5, 5-11 and 11-5. In the final match, Pakistan’s Tayyab Aslam emerged victorious in a five-setter against Kush Kumar despite initially trailing 2-1.

Just like his teammate, Tayyab won the first frame but then conceded two and trailed 2-1. He, however, rose to the occasion as Pakistan stared at a semi-final defeat and went on to win 3-2 by a scoreline of 11-7, 11-13, 8-11, 13-11 and 11-3.

Zaman hailed the impressive win and praised the all-round team effort. “It proved to be a tough match in hot conditions and there is no air-conditioning at the venue. So to come out victorious is a big achievement,” Zaman told The Express Tribune. “Once I lost match, I knew Mehboob will keep us alive but the way Tayyab played was outstanding. Now we believe that we can win this title and beat Hong Kong in the final.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2016.

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