Pakistan secured four spots in the finals of the Asian Junior Squash Championship at the Mushaf Sports Complex in Islamabad after a grueling round of semi-finals on Friday.
In Saturday's finals, Pakistani teammates Huzaifa Shahid and Sohail Adnan will compete for the Boys U-13 title, while Abdullah Nawaz will face Malaysia’s Nikhileswar Moganasundharam in the U-17 category at the 31st edition of the championship.
Last year’s world champion Hamza Khan will go up against Malaysia’s Harith Danial in the U-19 category.
Unfortunately, no Pakistani girl advanced to the semi-finals in the tournament, which featured around 200 players from a dozen countries across the U-13, U-15, U-17, and U-19 categories.
Earlier this month, the Ali sisters propelled Pakistan’s medal rush at the PBA 20th Penang Malaysia Junior Open.
Sohail secured a decisive win over Malaysia’s Muhammad Ifwat Zulkifli, defeating him 11-8, 11-6, 11-2 to advance to the finals.
Malaysia lost another spot in the Boys U-13 final as Huzaifa dominated Julius Tan with an 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 victory. Huzaifa has been a formidable player in the global U-13 field this year, having won the title at the Australian Junior Open in April.
The semi-final rivalry between Malaysia and Pakistan continued as Muhammad Raziq Razi secured his place in the U-15 finals by defeating Pakistan’s Abdullah Zaman 11-7, 11-8, 11-6.
Pakistan’s Nouman Khan initially had a strong start in the other U-15 semi-final, winning against India’s Shiven Agarwal, but was eventually overwhelmed and lost 5-11, 9-11, 0-11.
In the U-17 category, Pakistan and Malaysia faced off again as Abdullah Nawaz triumphed over Altamis Aqhar Sallam with scores of 11-4, 14-12, 11-6. However, Malaysia’s Nikhileswar Moganasundharam avenged this loss by easily defeating Azan Ali 11-6, 11-6, 11-8.
Hamza outperformed his compatriot M Ammad 11-6, 11-5, 11-0 to secure his spot in the finals, where he will face Malaysia’s Harith Danial, who advanced to the finals with a thrilling win over South Korea’s Jooyoung Na, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10.