Top seeds Meguid, Nasir progress
The squash players defeat Tayyab, Maqbool respectively in first round
KARACHI:
Top seeds in the Serena Hotels Chief of Air Staff International Squash Championship 2014 progressed to the second round as Egypt’s Omar Abdel Meguid and Nasir Iqbal comfortably won their fixtures at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad.
Mequid, ranked 28th in the world, defeated an unseeded Tayyab Aslam 3-0, while 20-year-old Nasir, ranked 44th, eased past Khawaja Adil Maqbool in similar fashion.
Meanwhile, the unranked Abbas Shoukat continued to surprise his opponents when he brought down UAE’s Ammar Altamimi 3-0 to reach the second round.
The youngster played confidently against a more experienced Altamimi, taking the first game 11-2. His opponent almost made a comeback in the next one, but failed to contain Abbas, who won the second and third games 13-11 and 11-6.
Meanwhile, third seed Farhan Zaman defeated wildcard entry Farhan Mehboob 3-2 in a thriller.
Zaman dominated the match as he took the opening games 11-9, 11-6 before Mehboob hit back in the next two, 12-11, 11-9, to level the match. However, Zaman won the decider 11-8 to seal the win. He will now play fifth seed Abdulla Mohammad Al Tamimi of Qatar in the next round.
Fourth seed Danish Atlas also registered a win against Austria’s Aqeel Rehman 3-0, while Ammar Fareed pulled off an upset as he defeated sixth seed Peter Creed. The Welsh lost to Fareed 3-0 in the first round.
Pakistan’s former top player Aamir Atlas also won his match against Shahjahan Khan 3-0.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2014.
Top seeds in the Serena Hotels Chief of Air Staff International Squash Championship 2014 progressed to the second round as Egypt’s Omar Abdel Meguid and Nasir Iqbal comfortably won their fixtures at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad.
Mequid, ranked 28th in the world, defeated an unseeded Tayyab Aslam 3-0, while 20-year-old Nasir, ranked 44th, eased past Khawaja Adil Maqbool in similar fashion.
Meanwhile, the unranked Abbas Shoukat continued to surprise his opponents when he brought down UAE’s Ammar Altamimi 3-0 to reach the second round.
The youngster played confidently against a more experienced Altamimi, taking the first game 11-2. His opponent almost made a comeback in the next one, but failed to contain Abbas, who won the second and third games 13-11 and 11-6.
Meanwhile, third seed Farhan Zaman defeated wildcard entry Farhan Mehboob 3-2 in a thriller.
Zaman dominated the match as he took the opening games 11-9, 11-6 before Mehboob hit back in the next two, 12-11, 11-9, to level the match. However, Zaman won the decider 11-8 to seal the win. He will now play fifth seed Abdulla Mohammad Al Tamimi of Qatar in the next round.
Fourth seed Danish Atlas also registered a win against Austria’s Aqeel Rehman 3-0, while Ammar Fareed pulled off an upset as he defeated sixth seed Peter Creed. The Welsh lost to Fareed 3-0 in the first round.
Pakistan’s former top player Aamir Atlas also won his match against Shahjahan Khan 3-0.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2014.