Number one seed Farhan Zaman prevailed on home soil against
compatriot and number two seed Tayyab Aslam in the final of
the 6th Parco Roshan Khan Open, PSA M15 tournament to claim
his first PSA World Tour title of 2016 in dramatic style.
Zaman had won the previous two encounters between the pair
coming in to the final, but came up against a rampant Aslam
who had scythed through the field to reach the showpiece
event, with 3-0 victories over Waqas Mehboob, Zahir Shah and
Shahjahan Khan sending the 19-year-old through to only his
third ever PSA World Tour final - where Pakistani legend
Jahangir Khan would be in attendance.
Zaman, the elder of the two finalists, had the better of the
early exchanges and struck up a narrow one-game advantage
before Aslam turned the match on its head, with a shift in
momentum enabling the World No.78 to take two games without
reply and earn the lead.
However, the fourth was all one-way traffic with Zaman
surging to victory without even dropping a single point to
set up a nail-biting fifth game showdown.
Both players traded a series of high-octane points in an
engaging climax to the match but the momentum was now with
Zaman and he closed out an 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-0, 11-4
victory to seal the fifth PSA World Tour crown of his
career.
Paksitani duo Farhan Zaman and Tayyab Aslam, seeds one and
two, respectively, will do battle in the final of the 6th
Parco Roshan Khan Open, PSA M15 tournament after both
players claimed 3-0 victories in their semi-final fixtures
in Karachi on home soil.
Zaman, who came through a nail-biting five-game
quarter-final encounter with Israr Ahmed to reach the last
four, lined up against fourth seed Khawaja Adil Maqbool and
showed no signs of any fatigue as he blitzed to the victory
in three, courtesy of an 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 scoreline.
Aslam, meanwhile, is still yet to drop a game throughout the
tournament and added compatriot Shahjahan Khan in the
semi-final to a list of wins that also includes Zahir Shah
and Waqas Mehboob.
Zaman and Aslam are set to go head-to-head in their third
meeting on the PSA World Tour, with Zaman prevailing in the
previous two occasions. However, this is the first time they
have met in a final and Aslam, who has played three games
less than his opponent at this stage of the event, will be
hoping that his fresh legs can inspire him to victory as he
bids to lift a second Tour title.
The top four seeded players in the 6th Parco Roshan Khan
Open, PSA M15 tournament advanced into the semi-final stage
after a exciting day of action at the Roshan Khan Jahangir
Khan Squash Complex in Karachi, Pakistan.
Title favourite Farhan Zaman advanced on home soil after
seeing off the threat of compatriot Israr Ahmed in a
nail-biting five-game affair. Zaman looked to be in cruise
control after powering to a two-game lead, only to see Ahmed
battle back to ensure parity and set up a deciding fifth
game.
Zaman dug in though and managed to edge the match by the
narrowest of margins, fighting to the win with an 11-8,
11-7, 5-11, 13-15, 11-9 scoreline to reach the last four.
The World No.63 will go up against Khawaja Adil Maqbool for
a place in the final after Maqbool came through a tense
encounter with Asim Khan to take the victory courtesy of a
3-2 margin.
Second seed and number three seed Tayeb Aslam and Shahjahan
Khan will do battle for the other final spot, with the
Pakistani duo rising to claim respective wins in straight
games over Zahir Shah and Muhammad Farhan.
The final qualifying round of the 6th Parco Roshan Khan
Open, PSA M15 tournament saw World No.394 Syed Ali Mujtaba
Shah Bokhari cause the day’s big upset with a straight games
win over top qualifying seed Faraz Muhammad sending him
through to his first PSA World Tour main draw of 2016.
Muhammad had received a bye in the previous round and came
into his fixture against Bokhari with fresh legs. However, a
virtuoso performance from 20-year-old Bokhari saw him take
control and he bridged an almighty 65-place gap in the World
Rankings to claim an 11-3, 11-8, 11-6 triumph.
Up next for Bokhari is a meeting with number three seed
Shahjahan Khan as he looks to move past the first round of a
PSA World Tour event for the first time since 2014.
Also through to main draw is Amaad Fareed after he managed a
3-0 win against Noman Khan. Fareed dominated the early
exchanges and cantered to victory in game one for the loss
of just two points, before fending off a late fight from
Khan to progress to the next stage. Fareed will do battle
with fellow Pakistani Asim Khan for a place in the last
eight.
There were also wins for local players Waqas Mehboob and
Mohammad Naeem after they rose to wins over Mehran Javed and
Saddam ul Haq, respectively.
Mehboob is set to face second seed Tayyab Aslam in the
opening round of the main draw, while Naeem will line up
against Zahir Shah.