CAS International Squash Championship: One Pakistani, three Egyptians into semis

Nasir, Meguid, alFathi and Abouelghar to vie for final spot on Monday

ISLAMABAD: Only one Pakistani — Nasir Iqbal — managed to progress to the semi-finals of the Chief of Air Staff International Squash Championship as three Egyptians — defending champion Omar Abdel Meguid, Karim alFathi and Mohamed Abouelghar — occupied the remaining spots in the last-four at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad.

In the first quarter-final of the day, Meguid defeated Farhan Mehboob 9-11, 11-1, 14-12, 11-7 in 63 minutes.

Following Mehboob’s 11-9 win in the first set, Meguid bounced back and outclassed his opponent to win the next one, giving away just a single point. He then continued his form into the third and fourth games to set up a semi-final clash with Karim alFathi, who had overcome Tayyab Islam in straight sets with a scoreline of 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 in the second last-eight encounter.

In the all-Egyptian see-saw quarter-final, Abouelghar defeated Shehab Essam 11-7, 4-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 in the longest match of the day.

The first set was won 11-7 by Abouelghar, but Essam levelled the tie in the following one by overpowering his opponent 11-4. Abouelghar then won the third set 11-7, however, he could not assert his dominance as Essam fought back to level the tie for the second time by winning the set 11-8.

Holding on to his nerves, Abouelghar finished the match by winning the last set 11-7 to set up his semi-final clash with Nasir, who managed to subdue Israr Ahmed 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5. The semi-finals will take place on Monday. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2015.

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