KARACHI: Noor Zaman and Hamza Khan gave hosts Pakistan something to cheer about as they cruised to the next round at the inaugural Under-23 World Squash Championships at Creek Club here on Sunday.
Second seed Noor, 21, wowed the home crowd in the snazzy glass court as he eased past Kuwait’s Hussain Alzaatari 11-6, 5-11, 11-4, 11-3 in 20 minutes.
Over in Court 1, former world junior champion Hamza dominated against Romania’s Radu Stefan Pena 11-3, 11-1, 11-5 to breeze through to the round-of-16.
Fifth seed Hamza next faces Will Salter after the Englishman beat Singapore’s Jerome Aw 11-9, 11-3, 8-11, 11-4 while Noor will play Jakub Pytlowany after the Pole received a walkover in the round-of-32.
The only blot in the men’s competition for Pakistan on the opening day was Mohammad Ammad losing to Malaysia’s Ameeshenraj Chandaran 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 in a 71-minute thriller.
The two went back and forth with their game wins before sixth seed Ameeshenraj prevailed.
Over on the women’s side, Mariam Malik stood no chance against Spain’s Noa Romero Blazquez who won the opening match 11-3, 11-2, 11-4.
Sana Bahadar tried to claw her way to victory by taking the third game against Tamara Holzbauerova but the Filipino clinched their clash 13-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8. Sana will play the consolation quarter-final against Sri Lanka’s Yeheni Kuruppu.
Amna Fayyaz also put up a strong fight when she won the second game but it was ultimately Japan’s Kurumi Takahashi who advanced to the next round with a 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 11-9 win. Amna will play Spain’s Basquez on Wednesday in the consolation semi-final.
The Egyptian men’s global dominance was on full display as top seed Ibrahim Elkabbani won 11-2, 9-11, 12-10, 11-2 against Poland’s
Leon Krysiak, while third seed Kareem El Torkey demolished American Hao Cui 11-1, 11-6, 11-5.
All seeded players on the men’s side proved their worth as they cruised to the next round.
Fifth seed David Bernet of Switzerland crushed Japan’s Yuta Ando 11-2, 11-8, 11-7, while seventh seed Dutch Rowan Damming overpowered Malta’s Kijan Sultana 11-6, 11-2, 11-8. Frenchman Melvil Scianimanico, seeded eighth, won against Sri Lanka’s Nevindu Lakman 11-9, 11-3, 12-14, 11-2.
Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2025
