Iqbal through to London Open quarters

Pakistani squash player recovers from two-sets down to win.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal made it to the quarter-finals of the London Open after recovering from two sets down to beat England’s Charles Sharpes 3-2 at Cumberland Lawn Tennis Club yesterday.

Iqbal, ranked 97th, lost the first two hard-fought sets but got the better of Sharpes, world number 74, in the final three sets to register a 9-11, 12-14, 11-1, 11-5 and 11-4 win. The 18-year-old from Peshawar was scheduled to take on Robbie Temple late last night after the local player got the better of Germany’s Raphael Kandra 11-5, 11-6 and 11-5.

Meanwhile, Danish Atlas Khan and Farhan Zaman got knocked out of the Saskatoon Boast Open in Canada yesterday.

Atlas was involved in a gruelling five-setter with qualifier England’s Ben Coleman who handed the Pakistani a 13-11, 9-11, 6-11, 12-10 and 11-4 loss in 94 minutes. Meanwhile, Austria’s Steven Finitis thrashed Zaman in just 36 minutes winning 11-2, 11-6 and 11-9.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2012.