COAS International 2003
17-20 Jan, Islamabad, Pakistan,  $25k

PSA Jan/Feb 2003: Apawamis | Qatar | COAS | CJSquash | Swedish

COAS SUCCESS FOR DARWISH
Top seed Karim Darwish cruised to victory in the COAS final in Islamabad, beating fellow Egyptian Muhammad Abbas 15/8, 15/4, 15/8 to claim the top prize of almost $4,000.

However Pakistan President Gen Perves Musharraf, presenting the trophies and cheques, announced huge cash prizes of up to $172,000 for Pakistani players who could claim the world number one position or the British Open ... full report from Dawn

Semi-finals:
Karim Darwish bt Omar Elborossy 15/11, 15/8, 15/7 (36m)
Muhammad Abbas bt Farrukh Zaman 15/7, 17/14, 15/14 (56m)

ALL-EGYPTIAN FINAL IN ISLAMABAD
The final of the COAS International will not feature a Pakistani, after the country's last remaining flag-bearer Farrukh Zaman fell to Muhammad Abbas of Egypt in the semifinals on Sunday.

Abbas's 56 minute victory on the centre court of the Roshan Khan Complex set up an all-Egyptian final, as top seed Karim Darwish outplayed compatriot Omar Elborossy in Sunday's second semifinal 15-7, 15-6, 15-10.

Farrukh Zaman put up a good fight but Abbas's superior reach and intelligent strokes gave the 22-year-old Egyptian an edge. Abbas, who defeated Pakistan's major hope Mansoor Zaman, in the quarterfinals, stayed ahead throughout the first game, but the second was a close contest with Abbas breaking away from 14-all to clinch it. Farrukh was up 11-8 at one stage in the third, but squandered that advantage as Abbas came fighting back to level the scores at 12-all, 13-13, and then again at 14-14.

It was not to be Farrukh's day though and his hopes were dashed by Abbas, who will now take a shot at the title and a prize purse of nearly $4000 on Monday.

The other semi-final was a one-sided affair as Darwish lived up to his top seeding, sending Elborossy out in 36 minutes.
 

• Draw & Results

• Reports

Darwish cruises to
victory in Islamabad

Omar Elborolossy

 Karim Darwish

15/8,15/4,15/8

Mohammed Abbas

15/7, 17/14, 15/14

Mohammed Abbas

Semi-finals:
Karim Darwish bt Omar Elborossy 15/11, 15/8, 15/7 (36m)
Muhammad Abbas bt Farrukh Zaman 15/7, 17/14, 15/14 (56m)

ALL-EGYPTIAN FINAL IN ISLAMABAD
The final of the COAS International will not feature a Pakistani, after the country's last remaining flag-bearer Farrukh Zaman fell to Muhammad Abbas of Egypt in the semifinals on Sunday.

Abbas's 40 minute victory on the centre court of the Roshan Khan Complex set up an all-Egyptian final, as top seed Karim Darwish outplayed compatriot Omar Elborossy in Sunday's second semifinal 15-7, 15-6, 15-10.

Farrukh Zaman put up a good fight but Abbas's superior reach and intelligent strokes gave the 22-year-old Egyptian an edge. Abbas, who defeated Pakistan's major hope Mansoor Zaman, in the quarterfinals, stayed ahead throughout the first game, but the second was a close contest with Abbas breaking away from 14-all to clinch it. Farrukh was up 11-8 at one stage in the third, but squandered that advantage as Abbas came fighting back to level the scores at 12-all, 13-13, and then again at 14-14.

It was not to be Farrukh's day though and his hopes were dashed by Abbas, who will now take a shot at the title and a prize purse of nearly $4000 on Monday.

The other semi-final was a one-way sided affair as Darwish lived up to his top seeding, sending Elborossy out in 36 minutes. Darwish was just too good for Elborossy, displaying an array of strokes to end his fellow-countryman's tournament.

Quarterfinals:
Karim Darwish (Egy) bt John Williams (Aus) 15-3, 15-11, 15-11
Omar Elborossy (Egy) bt Muhammad Essam Hafiz (Egy) 15-9, 15-12, 15-5
Farrukh Zaman (Pak) bt Muhammad Ilyas (Pak) 15-13, 14-15, 15-12, 17-14
Muhammad Abbas (Egy) bt Mansoor Zaman (Pak) 11-15, 15-6, 15-13, 15-8

MANSOOR CRASHES OUT IN ISLAMABAD
Second seed Mansoor Zaman, Pakistan's best hope in the COAS International in Islamabad, crashed out in the quarter-finals as three Egyptians advanced to the semis.

Following the departure of five Pakistanis in the first round much was expected of Mansoor, but although he took the first game against Muhammad Abbas the Egyptian reeled off the next three to dash home hopes.

Abbas now plays the sole remaining Pakistan representative Farrukh Zaman, who won 3-1 against compatriot Muhammad Ilyas. Qualifier Ilyas seemed to have recovered from the hand injury he sustained in the first round which caused him to be awarded the match against Shahid Zaman, but was unable to upset Farrukh.

Top seed Karim Darwish will meet fellow Egyptian Omar Elborolossy in the other semi-final. Darwish eased past John Williams in 27 minutes while Elborolossy took 36 minutes to defeat compatriot Muhammed Essam Hafiz.

EGYPTIANS ADVANCE IN ISLAMABAD
From Dawn
ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: Five Pakistanis were knocked out of the COAS International on Friday, four of them falling to Egyptian opponents as the main round of the $25,000 event began at the Roshan Khan Complex.

Majid Khan, Amjad Khan, Khayal Muhammad, Zubair Ali Khan and Shamsul Islam, all fell by the wayside with the Egyptian players enjoying a particularly fruitful day on court, advancing to the quarterfinals.

A back injury prevented Majid Khan from continuing when he was 2-0 down to top seed Karim Darwish, while a knee injury prevented Amjad Khan doing himself justice as he lost in three to Australia's John Williams.

Khayal Muhammad was the third Pakistani victim of the day who did not have much of a game plan against his experienced Egyptian rival, Omar Elborolossy, the world No 24. After losing a close first game 16-17, the towering Omar dominated Khayal and reeled off  the next three games to start off his title chase in style and go marching into the quarters.

Pakistan's Shamsul Islam put up a brave fight against Muhammad Essam Hafiz of Egypt in a match he could have easily won but let the game slip away, wasting four match points. In the end it was the Egyptian who took the honours, 17-15 in the fifth.

There was more disappointment for the home country as Zubair Ali Khan was shown the door by another Egyptian, Muhammad Abbas in 38 minutes. Shahid Zaman had to pay the penalty for indulging in rough play, arguing every call and shoving his rival Muhammad Ilyas so hard while attempting to play a shot that Ilyas had to be taken to the hospital. The incident occurred when Shahid was two games up and stood level at 8-all in the third. The officials ruled that Shahid's act was deliberate and with Ilyas unable to continue the match was awarded to his rival.

Farrukh Zaman was the only home player to beat a foreigner, but had to put in all his energies in doing so, scoring a 3-1 victory over Muhammad Azlan Iskander of Malaysia.

World No. 18 Mansoor Zaman was also a winner, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 3-1 success against country-fellow Ejaz Azmat.

Qualifying finals:
Majid Khan bt Farhan Mehboob 13/15,15/9,15/13,14/15,15/11
Khayal Muhammad bt Arshad Iqbal Burki 15/11,15/10,15/13
Muhammad Ilyas bt Safeer Ullah Khan 12/15,15/6,15/3,15/7
Shams-ul-Islam bt Khalid Atlas 15/5,15/13,15/10

Islam, Ilyas advance to main round
From Dawn

ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: Shamsul Islam Khan and Muhammad Ilyas checked into the main round of the $25,000 COAS International Squash Championship Thursday with contrasting victories over their rivals.

Also making the main draw starting Friday were Majid Khan and Khayal Muhammad, both of whom had to work hard in overcoming their opponents on the courts of the Roshan Khan Complex.

Ranked 59 in the world, Shams needed just over half an hour in knocking out Khalid Atlas 15-5, 15-13, 15-10 to earn a clash Friday with Egypt's Mohamed Essam A. Hafiz, No. 42 on the ladder.

Ilyas, world No. 75, however dropped a game in his match against the newly crowned under-19 Junior British Open champion, Safeerullah Khan before winning 12-15, 15-6, 15-3, 15-7 in 40 minutes. He will up against country-fellow Shahid Zaman, No 29, on the opening day.

Majid Khan had a difficult passage through, having to go the distance against Farhan Mahboob in a 76-minute marathon. His 13- 15, 15-9, 15-13, 14-15, 15-11 win put him in a clash with tournament's Egyptian top seed, Karim Darwesh, world No 13.

While it was tough for Majid, it wasn't easy for Khayal either. He had to be on court for a good 50 minutes to snuff the challenge of Arshad Iqbal Burki 15-11, 15-10, 15-13 in what was a hard-fought match. Khayal's opponent Friday will be world No 24, Omar Elborossy of Egypt.

Safeer outguns game Yasir
from Dawn
ISLAMABAD, Jan 15: Safeer Khan defeated Yasir Butt Wednesday in a clash of the junior British Open champions at the start of the qualifying rounds of the COAS International Squash Championship.

Winner of the under-19 crown at the tournament in Sheffield, Safeer needed 35 minutes to thwart the challenge of Yasir, the under-17 champion there, 17-16, 15-9, 15-7.

Other victor in the competition being held at the Roshan Khan courts was Khayal Muhammad who beat Naveed Atlas 13-15, 15-8, 17- 14, 15-7 after being on court for an hour.

Farhan Mahboob had to spend as much time in overpowering a fighting Saeed Hasan 15-11, 13-15, 15-6, 7-15, 17-16 but Khalid Atlas needed only 14 minutes to brush aside Farhan Mobeen 15-4, 15-7, 15-6.

Majid Khan, Arshad Iqbal Burki, Muhammad Ilyas and Samsul Islam were all given byes.