Pakistan demolish India, move into Asian Squash final

KARACHI: Pakistan crushed arch-rivals India 2-1 in the semi-final of the 18th Asian Squash Team Championships in Chinese Taipei on Saturday.

Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu created stir in the Pakistani camp when he defeated top player Farhan Zaman in the opening match.

He overpowered Farhan 4-11, 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6.

It was then up to Tayyab Aslam to trigger Pakistan’s comeback as he stood firm against the Indian threat and steered his team out of crisis. He beat Kush Kumar 11-7, 11-13, 8-11, 13-11, 11-3 in the second match.

In the decider, Farhan Mehboob won against Velavan Senthilkumar 11-5, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5.

It was one of the toughest matches second seed Pakistan have played in the championship, which lasted for 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Pakistan will now face top seed Hong Kong in the final on Sunday (today).

Pakistan topped their group after defeating Sri Lanka and Singapore before overcoming Iraq in the quarter-finals.

In the second semi-final, Hong Kong routed Japan despite the continued absence of injured Leo Au Chun-ming.

They had a straight 2-0 win with Tang Ming-hong giving Hong Kong the perfect start when he overwhelmed Naoki Hayashi in a quick-fire match 11-1, 11-4, 11-4.

Max Lee Ho-yin conceded only nine points in three games to beat Ryunosuke Tsukue 11-4, 11-1, 11-4.

A total of 14 teams are participating in the championship.

In the women’s semi-final, Hong Kong suffered defeat at the hands of India 2-1.

Hong Kong won the opening match with Liu Tsz-ling beating Sachika Ingale in straight games 11-6, 11-7, 11-2 but top player Annie Au Wing-chi was no match for Joshana Chinappa, losing 11-7, 13-11, 11-4.

With the tie level at 1-1, the pressure was on Joey Chan Ho-ling. She took the first two games 12-10, 11-4 against Dipika Pallikal, but lost the next three 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 and the match.