Top seeds advance to semifinals of Pakistan Int’l Squash Tournament

ISLAMABAD - Top seed men players continued their unbeaten run in the Pakistan International Squash Tournament and moved to semifinals after notching up wins in the quarterfinals here at Mushaf Squash Complex on Wednesday.

Tournament’s top seed Tayyab Aslam defeated Israr Ahmad 3-1 in the 45-minute battle with the game score of 11-7, 13-15, 11-3, 11-5.

Second seed Farhan Mehboob recorded an emphatic 3-0 win over Haris Qasim with the game score of 11-5, 11-4, 11-5. While third seed Asim Khan pulled off a well-fought win against Farhan Zaman. After losing first two sets 10-12 and 12-14, he came back from behind strongly, edging past his opponent in next three sets 11-9, 11-9, 11-4 in a 57-minute epic clash.

Amaad Fareed defeated Waqas Mehboob 3-0 with the game score of 11-3, 11-9, 11-4 to reserve a semifinal berth.

In women event, Maria Toorpakai Wazir outclassed Noor Ul Huda 3-0 with the game score of 11-7, 11-5, 11-7. Amna Fayyaz sent Anam Mustafa Aziz packing 3-0 with the game score of 11-3, 11-6, 11-7. While Saima Shaukat was declared winner against Riffat Khan 8-11, 7-11, 12-10 as the later was retired hurt after winning first two sets and losing the third one. Moqaddas Ashraf defeated Rushna Mehboob 3-2 in a seesaw battle, with the game score of 6-11 11-3, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5.

Semifinals of both men and women events will be held on Thursday. In men event, Tayyab Aslam will take on Asim Khan, while Farhan Mehboob will meet Amaad Fareed. In the women event, Maria Toor will play against Amna Fayyaz, whereas Moqaddas Ashraf will face Saima Shaukat.