Pakistan International Squash: Farhan, Tayyab set up all-Pakistan final

ISLAMABAD: Farhan Mehboob and Tayyab Aslam threw Egyptian top seeds out to make the Serena Hotels-Huawei Pakistan International Squash Tournament an all-Pakistan affair following the exciting semi-finals at the Mushaf Ali Mir Complex here Wednesday.

For the first time in almost three years, an international squash tournament worth $20,000 or above at home will see both Pakistani players in the final.

In what turned out to be an intriguing semi-final, Farhan came back from two games down to upset top seed and world No 42 Youssef Ibrahim 8-11, 14-16, 11-2, 11-5, 12-10 following 50 minutes of intense battle. Tayyab then defeated second seed Mohamed ElSherbini 11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 in 46 minutes.

The semi-final between Farhan and Youssef was going easy for the Egyptian who started dictating terms right from the outset. Farhan tried to be aggressive and in the process hit 14 tins in the first two games. Farhan was leading 7-4 in the second game when a couple of tins and reckless shots saw him conceding the game also from a relatively strong position.

The real action started from the third game when Farhan finally attacked the right angles with boost and trickle boost. The Pakistani was in ruthless mood as he raced to a 9-2 lead. “I have to admit that earlier I was struggling to put the ball where I wanted to. However, once I took control in the third game, points started coming thick and fast. I knew he was a bit suspect in the front court and that was why I tried to hit drops repeatedly,” Farhan said.

Backed by the crowd, Farhan did not let down his supporters and kept the pressure on Youssef.

Both players put in every effort to wrest the initiative in the fifth game which saw the Egyptian leading 7-5 at one stage. A change of racket by Youssef did not help his chances in the dying moments of the match and Farhan not only overhauled the lead, he also took a comfortable 10-7 lead. A couple of misses drew the Egyptian closer but it was too little too late as Farhan took the fifth game and a place in the final.

In the second semi-final, Tayyab clearly looked a superior opponent barring on a few occasions when he was seen making half-hearted attempts to pick points. His win in the first game came a bit easier. However, he had to struggle hard to win the third and fourth games — though the ultimate winner was never in doubt.

Meanwhile in the women’s semi-final, world No 101 Hana Moataz of Egypt upset countrywoman and world No 56 Farida Mohamed 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 3-11, 14-12 in 36 minutes.

She will meet Sabrina Sobhy of the United States in the final. Sabrina defeated Mena Hamed of Egypt 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 in 23 minutes.

The women’s final will be played at 3pm today (Thursday) with the men’s decider set to be held after an hour (4pm).