CAS International Championship: Nasir exit paves way for all-Egyptian final

Last Pakistan squash player standing falls 3-1 to Abouleghar.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal crashed out of the Serena Hotels-Chief of Air Staff International Squash Championship after losing his semi-final 3-1 against Egypt’s Mohamed Abouleghar on Monday at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad.

Bannu-born Nasir went down in the first game despite putting up a fight. However, his hard work paid off as he won the second one.

With the match evenly poised at 1-1, the third set was an intense battle which was eventually won by Abouleghar, who took the score to 2-1 in his favour.

The Egyptian needed to  win just one more game, while Nasir had to take the match into the fifth game to stand a chance of reaching the final.

Nasir raced to 10-4 in the fourth set but was unable to hold his advantage, with his Egyptian opponent levelling the score 10-10. From there on, Nasir posed no threat as Abouleghar won the last-four encounter 11-8, 2-11, 11-8, 14-12 after 48 minutes.

Former Pakistan head coach Jamshed Gul, who has been participating in the event as referee, stated that Nasir played well throughout and could have progressed in the final had he won the fourth game. “In all, it was a good match with both players going for winners,” Jamshed told The Express Tribune.

Meanwhile, the second semi-final was an all-Egyptian affair with Omar Abdel Meguid defeating compatriot Karim Al-Fathi 6-11, 14-12, 11-3, 11-9 after an 80-minute duel.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2015.

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