In the men’s semi-finals, fifth-seed Tayyab was made to work hard by unseeded Zahir Shah before he eventually came out on top 3-2.
With the match evenly poised at 1-1, Tayyab tried to break away and won the third frame in an emphatic manner to restore his one-game lead. But Zahir fought back to take the match into a decider before he was undone by Tayyab, who won by scores of 12-10, 9-11, 11-2, 10-12 and 11-7.
In the other last-four encounter, Farhan Mehboob had a much easier time thrashing Sheikh Saqib in straight sets of 11-6, 11-4 and 11-7 in under half an hour.
Mehboob said that he had been focused against Saqib as his opponent had earlier caused a big upset by beating the talented Farhan Zaman 3-2 in the quarter-finals. “I was very focused against Saqib, which is why I won easily,” Mehoob told The Express Tribune.
“I knew that taking him easy could have troubled me because he played a really great game in the quarter-finals, beating Zaman who is one of the most naturally-gifted stroke makers in Pakistan. That concentration helped me win in straight games and this will keep me fresh for the all-important finale.”
Mehboob added that he is expecting Tayyab to put up a tough fight but feels it will be a test of the youngster’s fitness, who has already played two five-setters on the trot.
“Tayyab has shown a fighting spirit throughout the tournament and I expect the same in the final. I want to win this championship to improve my national as well as PSA ranking,” stated Mehboob.
In the female category, Zoya stunned fifth seed Saima Shoukat 3-0 win in just 15 minutes by scores of 11-6, 11-4 and 11-4 while Riffat shocked second seed Samar Anjum with a 5-11, 11-8, 11-6 and 11-6 victory.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2014.
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