Hamza faces tough challenge in WJS pre-quarters

ISLAMABAD: World Junior Squash (WJS) defending champion Muhammad Hamza Khan will be facing a tough challenge in the pre-quarterfinals against Marwan Assal of Egypt following his easy wins on Saturday.

The World Junior Squash (Individual) Championship got underway in Texas (US). Some exciting matches saw Pakistan winning in most of the categories at an early stage. Hamza ranked 2 behind Egypt’s Mohammad Zakaria beat Yousaf Mobrouk of Egypt in a round of 32, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4.

Earlier, he defeated Spain’s Orial Salvia 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 and English qualifier Dylan Roberts 12-10, 13-11, 11-7 in the first round. In Under-19 category, Muhammad Ammad was defeated by Shaurya Bawa of India 12-10, 11-3, 11-9. Huzaifa Ibrahim lost against Harith Danial 9-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5 to bow out of the competition.

Abdullah Nawaz also marched into the round of sixteen with a five-set thrilling win 1-12, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5 against England’s Wasey Maqsood. He will now face Egyptian Omar Azzam in the quarter-finals.