Noor upsets highly ranked Malaysian squash player

ISLAMABAD: Young Noor Zaman stunned Malaysian Darren Rahul Pragasam in a five-game thriller to move into the quarterfinals of the $ 12000 DHA Islamabad International Squash Championship at Jacaranda Family Club (JFC) Islamabad.

In Sunday’s pre-quarters, Noor edged out Darren 8-11, 11-3, 12-10, 3-11, 11-5.

The match lasted for 38 minutes with Noor making the best use of his stamina and agility. He was exceptional in his retrieve and was up to the mark when it came to hitting timely winners.

Noor will have a tough quarterfinal against Edwin Clain (Fra) who surprised Syed Azlan Amjad (Qat) 11-5, 11-9, 11-7.

High-flying Farhan Mehboob was tamed rather easily by his countryman Israr Ahmad. Israr got better of Farhan in just 23 minutes 13-11, 11-1, 11-8.

Top seed Asim Khan (Pak) had a tough three-set win against Alireza Shameli (IRI) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8. The match lasted for 37 minutes.

Results: Asim Khan (Pak) bt Alireza Shameli (IRI) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 (37 Min); Ahsan Ayaz (Pak) bt Khaled Labib (Egy) 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 (23 Min); Israr Ahmad (Pak) bt Farhan Mehboob (Pak) 13-11, 11-1, 11-8 (23 Min); Seif Shenaway.