Pakistani World No.180 Farhan Mehboob overcame younger brother Waqar
in the final of the 4th FMC International Men’s Squash Championship,
PSA M15 tournament to lift a sixth PSA World Tour title of his
career.
Mehboob had been in scintillating form in the build up to the final
and didn’t drop a single game as he powered past his opponents in
style, while Waqar defeated two qualifiers before dispatching
wildcard Amaad Fareed to reach the final.
With Pakistani squash legend Jahangir Khan, a six-time World
Champion and winner of a record 555 straight matches, in attendance,
Farhan started the better of the two in a one-sided opening game as
he maintained a high pace of attack, going on to take it 11-5.
Farhan controlled proceedings in the second as well, giving his
brother no chance to attack as he stormed to a two-game lead for the
loss of just three points.
The third game was the closest of the lot and an improved Waqar
levelled the game at 9-9 to give himself a glimmer of hope as he
looked to take the match to a fourth. However, Farhan was soon back
on top and he took the next two points without reply to close out an
11-5, 11-3, 11-9 victory in just 25 minutes and secure a fourth
successive win over his brother.
“The Punjab Squash Association and FMC have made excellent
arrangements for conducting the events and it was really a
remarkable event for us," said the Mehboob brothers.
"We are very proud of our performances and hope to improve them
further to win more for us as well as for the country.”
Pakistani qualifier Faraz Muhammad sealed his place in the
quarter-final of a PSA World Tour event for the first time after
bridging an astonishing 263-place World Rankings gap to cause a big
upset against number three seed Khawaja Adil Maqbool in the opening
round of the 4th FMC International Men’s Squash Championship, PSA
M15 tournament.
World No.365 Muhammad started well and took the lead on two
occasions, with Maqbool bouncing back both times to level the
encounter and set up a deciding fifth game. Both players traded
equal blows as the match entered a tense tie-break, but Muhammad put
in some powerful shots at to take the crucial points in the latter
stages and record an 11-8, 3-11, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11 victory to reach
the last eight.
Up next for Muhammad is a meeting with seventh seed Waqar Mehboob
after the 24-year-old slalomed past the challenge of Kashif Asif in
straight games.
Top seed Farhan Zaman recovered from a game down to see of the
threat of United States player Abbas Maniar and he will face off
against Israr Ahmed after he dispatched Muhammad Farhan in just 10
minutes.
Tayyab Aslam, the 19-year-old number two seed, secured his
quarter-final berth courtesy of a powerful victory over Waqas
Mehboob. World No.71 Aslam dropped the first game after a fast start
from his fellow Pakistani but he steadied the ship, taking three
games without reply to earn his place in the next round. There, he
will clash with wildcard Amaad Fareed, who saw off Asim Khan.
The other quarter-final fixture will be contested by Farhan Mehboob
and Raees Khan after they defeated Zahir Shah and Abbas Soukat,
respectively.
Local player Raees Khan secured his main draw berth in the 4th FMC
International Men’s Squash Championship, PSA M15 tournament after he
dispatched top qualifying seed Bilal Zakir in the final round of
qualifying in Lahore, Pakistan.
Khan, who dispatched another seeded player, Asif Khan Khalil, in the
previous round, dominated proceedings at the Punjab Squash Complex
and romped to an 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 victory in just 30 minutes to seal
his main draw spot.
He is set to face fellow Pakistani Abbas Sahukat in the opening
round of the main draw as he bids to reach the quarter-final.
Kashif Asif has also progressed to the main draw courtesy of a
hard-fought 3-1 triumph over number eight qualifying seed Zeeshan
Khan. Both players took a game apiece in a closely contested
beginning to the encounter, before Asif pulled away to take the next
two games and earn the win, which means he will face Waqar Mehboob
for a place in the main draw’s quarter-final.
Faraz Muhammad and Waqas Mehboob will also compete in the main draw
after they rose to respective victories over Aqib Hanif and Mehran
Javed.
Muhammed will line up against Khawaja Adil Maqbool in the next
round, while Waqas will take on second seed Tayyab Aslam.
