Being ill for nearly two weeks before the event had taken a lot out of me, but I still played, says Farhan Mehboob. PHOTO: AFP
Sheikh Saqib, seeded sixth got the better of Asian Champion Amir – seeded second behind Nasir Iqbal – winning 3-1 in just 47 minutes with game scores of 11-3, 13-11, 5-11 and 11-4 at the Sindh Rangers Jahangir Khan Squash Complex in North Nazimabad.
Amir’s brother Danish Atlas, seeded third, also faced an early exit, falling prey to another upset at the hands of seventh-seed Tayyab Aslam in a marathon five-setter.
Tayyab and Danish played one the most thrilling matches of the event so far, as the two battled 90 minutes for supremacy. However, Tayyab came out on top despite trailing 2-1 at one stage. He triumphed with scores of 13-14, 11-3, 9-11, 11-5 and 11-7.
Farhan Zaman defeated an ailing Mehboob, who had initially opted to skip the event having recently recovered from an illness, in straight sets under half-an-hour, winning by 12-10, 11-2 and 11-2.
Mehboob aiming to get back in form
Mehboob said that his main aim was to get back in form for the PSA World Championship which will be played in Manchester in October.
“I wasn’t fit coming into this event but played on the insistence of my father,” Farhan told The Express Tribune.
“Being ill for nearly two weeks before the event had taken a lot out of me, but I still played.
“My focus is to get back into the best shape possible before the world championship in order to impress in the qualifiers. This will get me a place in the main round.
“I’ve a month to improve my fitness levels and I’ll give everything during the training sessions to get back to my best.”
Meanwhile, top-seed Nasir eased past Bilal Zakir who had to retire due to injury when the match was in Nasir’s favour at 11-6 and 8-1. Bilal had been in impressive form in the competition, but fatigue got the better of him.
Anjum books place in semi-finals
Top seed Samar Anjum continued her prolific run as she defeated Riffat Khan 3-1 with scores of 13-11, 8-11, 11-4 and 11-5, while second-seed Zoya Khalid pipped Madina Zafar 3-2 after a tense encounter.
Rushna Mehboob outplayed Aliya Sarfraz in straight sets while Muqaddas Ashraf won in similar fashion against Saima Shaukat.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2013.
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