Aamir on course to lift squash trophy

Top-seed beats Farhan to reach event’s semis.

KARACHI: Top-seed and favourite Aamir Atlas Khan remained on course to lift the Chief Of The Army Staff (COAS) squash tournament after he reached the semi-finals with an 11-9, 11-1, 11-5 win over Waqas Mehboob in Islamabad yesterday.

Meanwhile, Nasir Iqbal produced a shock when he beat Farhan Mehboob 11-7, 11-9 and 11-5 despite playing through with an injury.

“My confidence has really been boosted with this win and I am now looking to go all the way,” Iqbal told The Express Tribune. “My only concern is the pain barrier that I have to play through. Hopefully I’ll be able to overcome that and become the champion.”

Farhan Zaman beat Sheikh Saqib Yousuf 4-11, 11-5, 11-6, 9-11 and 11-7 after 57 minutes. Danish Atlas won 11-5, 11-5 and 11-6 against Mansoor Zaman.

In the last-four, Aamir will take on Zaman, while Nasir faces Danish. In the girls’ category, Amna Latif raced to a 3-0 victory over Nimra Shahid while Saima Shoukat defeated Mehwish Hanif 3-2. Rushna Mehboob clinched a 3-2 win against Riffat Khan while Zoya Khalid beat Saadia Gul 3-2.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2012.