(From left) Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal and Noor Zaman pose with Malaysian opponents, Duncan Lee and Syafiq Kamal on this undated picture. — Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan secured a spot within the remaining of the Asian Doubles Squash Championship after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Malaysia within the semifinals on Wednesday.
The Pakistani pair of Noor Zaman and Nasir Iqbal overcame Malaysia’s Syafiq Kamal and Duncan Lee in a tense three-game match, with scores of 10-11, 11-9 and 11-9. The carefully contested semifinal lasted one hour and eight minutes.
The Pakistani duo had superior to the semifinals on Tuesday with a powerful efficiency, defeating the Korean pair of Jiang Min Ryu and Jaijin Yoo in an exciting 2-1 encounter within the quarterfinals.
Because the second seed within the championship, Pakistan has displayed a exceptional type all through the match with back-to-back wins over the Philippines and South Korea within the group stage on Monday.
They dispatched the Filipino pair with ease, profitable 11-7 and 11-4, and adopted it up with a commanding efficiency in opposition to the Koreans.
For the unversed, Zaman had earlier exited the Asian Particular person Squash Championship following a slim defeat in his pre-quarterfinal match.
Pakistan will now face archrival and top-seed India within the championship remaining. India’s Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar await in what guarantees to be a high-stakes showdown.
