Pakistan beat India to enter squash final

Squash team beats arch-rivals India 2-0 in the semi-finals to book a finals berth with Malaysia.

KARACHI: Hockey will not be the only sport Pakistan will be vying for gold today as the squash team beat arch-rivals India 2-0 in the semi-finals to book a finals berth with Malaysia.

Farhan Mehboob beat Siddharth Suchde 3-1 while Aamir Atlas repeated the same score-line against Saurav Ghosal to seal the 2-0 win.

Hockey team wary of Malaysian threat

Malaysia may not be the strong opponents on paper but Pakistan will still take them as tough rivals when the teams clash for hockey gold today.

“We may have a better track record against them but this is the final which is never an easy affair for any side,” Pakistan manager Khawaja Junaid told The Express Tribune. “Malaysia showed great promise and their stunning win against India in the semis and a draw against Korea tells us they’re a tough side. We’re confident but not complacent ahead of the match and everyone knows its importance.”

Pakistan veteran Sohail Abbas, the world’s leading scorer, felt his team badly needs the win.

“We need to win a big one to restore the faith in our fans back home,” said Abbas. “This is the time to do it. We can’t afford to slip up.”

Kabaddi team maintains winning streak

Pakistan kabaddi team continued its winning ways when they outclassed Bangladesh 36-15 to record their third straight win of the tournament. The team will play against Iran today for a place in semi-finals.

Cricket team faces Afghan hurdle

Pakistan will take on Afghanistan in the last-four of the men’s cricket event today. Afghanistan booked their berth in the semi-finals after defeating Hong Kong by eight wickets and their coach Rashid Latif, former Pakistan captain, was confident of his team’ win against Pakistan.

Wrestlers fail to earn medals

Pakistan wrestlers, who showed commendable performance in the Commonwealth Games, will return empty-handed after failing to reach the podium. Mohammad Inam, who won gold last month, bowed out after a 3-0 quarter-final loss. Mohammad Ali was beaten by the same score-line against a Chinese opponent while Azher Hussain, winner of a gold and silver in New Delhi, fell at the very first hurdle against another Chinese rival.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2010.