Fri 20th,
Quarter-Finals:
Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak) bt [9/16] Basit Ashfaq (Pak) 9-7, 6-9,
9-7, 9-5
[5/8] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [3/4] Farhan Mehboob (Pak) 9-5, 7-9, 9-3, 9-1
[5/8] Yasir Butt (Pak) bt [3/4] Mahmoud Adel (Egy) 9-7, 7-9, 9-1,
9-4
[2] Khalid Atlas Khan (Pak) bt Shah Nawaz (Pak) 9-7, 9-7, 9-2
Upset in Pakistan camp ...
George Mieras reports from Islamabad...
The first quarter final in Islamabad saw an upset in the Pakistani camp.
Aamir Atlas Khan had a bad run in the trials and was not picked for
the team, nor was he seeded in the individual. Come the hour the
motivation was
there against seeded Basit Ashfaq, conqueror of no 1 seed Saurav
Ghosal of India.
For Basit it was a touch of deju vu as the height difference
between the players was almost the same again in his favour as against
Saurav. But Aamir was very keyed up, clearly with a lot to prove, and set
off right from the start attacking at any opportunity. Some of his
overhead
nicks and his long range cross court drops were as good as anything seen
in this tournament.
Bashit seemed subdued, he played in fits and starts and perhaps felt the
pressure with a lot more to lose. He looked so miserable at points,
refereeing decisions seemed to weigh heavily on his mind, all signs of the
pressure.
Towards the end the real determination of Aamir became increasingly
apparent and a winning cross court nick to seal the 4th game was greeted
with huge celebration - first onto court was big brother Khalid to
congratulate the kid on the block! Hunger prevailed, a wee yin this time
got the better of the big yin and Pakistan will have to lift the spirits
of the team player in the next few days.
Ashour the Party-Pooper
And then there was a party-pooper - by the name of Ramy Ashour, the
[5/8] seed from Egypt. Your scribe, after more decades than one cares to
remember watching the game, is rarely excited by modern squash, but this
was something different, and happily enjoyed by the largest crowd seen so
far here in Islamabad.
This was two wonderfully talented players taking any opportunity to
attack, very little attritional play at all, as seen in the total time for
4 games of only 40 minutes. Left hander Farhan Mehboob has
impressed greatly but met
his match here in curly-haired crowd pleasing Ashour. The difference lay
in control of the pace - Ramy floated the ball around, controlled the pace
of drives better than seen in any game so far and simply did not allow his
Pakistani opponent to generate the pace he wanted. Classic Egyptian
coaching of old was very apparent.
The first game went with some fine shotmaking to Ramy,
Farhan looking tense. But the coaches worked on him and he stormed back
game in two, perhaps Ramy relaxed a little, and Farhan won it. The third
game was the crunch game and longest (16 minutes) but apart from
occasional bursts Ramy always managed to get the pace back down.
Farhan emerged for the 4th mentally down and a series of brilliant shots
ensued to wrap it up 9-1 in only 5 minutes. What a pleasure to watch - and
Pakistan will have to beware this young Egyptian does not spoil the
party right through to the end - he is most certainly talented enough.
Only one Egyptian ...
The third quarter-final was a totally contrasting match - immense power
much of the time, far higher pace. Mahmoud Adel is the giant
Egyptian, so strong though with some fine touch play. But if moved around
enough his mobility is suspect. Yasir Butt exploited this at the start.
Throwing high balls, then dropping short, drawing Adel up the court. Lots
of lets were a result.
The first was a marathon, won by Yasir, but Adel stuck in top take the
second. It was tiring stuff though, and now Yasir switched to awesome
poweer, outhitting the Egyptian regularly to take the third, and the
fourth was no contest.
So three home players in the semis, with the final match being an
all-Pakistani affair. Unseeded Shaw Nawaz played his heart out in a
high-paced encounter with second seed Khalid Atlas Khan, but Khan
proved too strong as he moved into the semi-finals with a straight games
victory.
Thu 19th, 4th round:
[9/16] Basit Ashfaq (PAK) bt [1] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 9-5, 0-9, 9-7,
9-6
Amir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt [17/32] Jens Schoor (GER) 9-5, 9-3, 4-9, 9-4
[5/8] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [9/16] James Wright (ENG) 9-1, 9-7, 9-2
[3/4] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt [9/16] Christopher Gordon (USA) 9-4, 9-4,
9-5
[3/4] Mahmoud Adel (EGY) bt [9/16] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 9-5, 10-8, 9-3
[5/8] Yasir Butt (PAK) bt [9/16] Simon Rosner (GER) 9-2, 9-3, 9-3
Shah Nawaz (PAK) bt [5/8] Chris Simpson (ENG) 7-9, 9-4, 9-0, 9-6
[2] Khalid Atlas Khan (PAK) bt [9/16] Robin Clarke (CAN) 9-1, 5-9, 9-2,
9-1
George Mieras reports from Islamabad...
TOP SEED IS OUT
Perhaps the old maxim applies: sometimes size does matter? It certainly
looked like it - both ways - in the first round 4 match in Islamabad where
the 6'2" of Basit Ashfaq dwarfed the 5'7" of India's no 1 seed and
British Junior Open Champion, Saurav Ghosal.
One way was in the Pakistani giant's favour - the reach and power factor.
Against that his inability to clear the path of the ball cost dear - 5
scoring strokes in a row in game 2, for example.
But overall the plus factors triumphed as he led the home charge into the
quarter finals. Game 1 was close with Saurav making some errors and trying
to get to grips with what tactics to use against Basit - playing short did
not profit him. The coaches got to work after that and game 2 was almost
straight through for Saurav, helped by all the strokes. Perhaps this was
too easy as odd errors crept back in again, and in particular the mistake
of opening up the court for the lethal Pakistani forehand drive which
often proved quite unreachable. From 1-7 Saurav tightened up a great deal
and fought back to level but an error and opening for the forehand proved
fatal.
Game 4 saw Saurav trying more short play but now Basit was more confident,
volleying more and better, and again opened out the same lead for Saurav
to try to fight back. An immensely long rally at 3-7 eventually finished
with a Pakistani error and as so often then happens a 'dolly' serve
produced a daft return into the tin and another simple rally, but it was
really by then too late and the Pakistani boy held on to win, much to the
delight of a pleasingly large crowd of home supporters.
Wed 18th August:
Pakistan Dominate
In Islamabad
Hosts Pakistan have swept all before them in the PIA Men's World Junior
Squash Championship today in Islamabad. Six local players will move into
tomorrow's fourth round at the new Mushaf Squash Complex, with Amir Atlas
Khan and Shah Nawaz being the only unseeded players to reach the last
sixteen.
Nawaz beat Sulaiman Al Khamees 9-4 9-4 9-5, despite the Kuwaiti putting up
a good fight. Amir Atlas Khan, the 14-year-old from Peshawar who was a
surprise winner of the Pakistan National Junior title last month,
despatched England's 5/8 seed Tom Richards 9-5 9-1 9-2. A nephew of the
great Jansher Khan, Amir now meets Germany's Jens Schoor.
The most dramatic encounter took place between Egyptians Mahmoud Adel and
Ahmed El Swaify. Adel, runner-up in the British Junior U19 Open at the
beginning of the year and seeded to reach the semi-finals in Islamabad,
dropped the first two games against his compatriot, seeded in the 17/32
group. El Swaify had match balls in the next two games, but Adel
maintained his composure to survive 6-9 0-9 10-9 10-8 9-2.
Top seed Saurav Ghosal, who is seeded to become the first Indian winner of
the event, removed Malaysia's Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 9-2 9-2 9-0 to set up a
fourth round clash with Pakistan's Basit Ashfaq.
Behind Pakistan's six players through to the last sixteen come Germany,
Egypt and England with two players each, and India, USA, New Zealand and
Canada with just a single representative.
3rd round:
[1] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [17/32] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 9-2, 9-2,
9-0
[9/16] Basit Ashfaq (PAK) bt Tamim El Waliby (EGY) 9-7, 9-6, 9-6
[17/32] Jens Schoor (GER) bt Benjamin Fischer (SUI) 9-0, 9-4, 9-3
Amir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt [5/8] Tom Richards (ENG) 9-5, 9-1, 9-2
[5/8] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Aqib Hanif (PAK) 10-8, 9-0, 9-3
[9/16] James Wright (ENG) bt Jamie Macaulay (SCO) 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
[9/16] Christopher Gordon (USA) bt [17/32] Sebastian Weenink (NED) 9-0,
10-9, 9-5
[3/4] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt Abdul Khalid Mazayin (KUW) 9-0, 9-0, 8-10,
9-2
[3/4] Mahmoud Adel (EGY) bt [17/32] Ahmed El Swaify (EGY) 6-9, 0-9, 10-9,
10-8, 9-2
[9/16] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt [17/32] Kristen Johnson (SCO) 9-5, 9-7,
9-5
[9/16] Simon Rosner (GER) bt [17/32] Lewys Hurst (WAL) 9-0, 9-2, 9-3
[5/8] Yasir Butt (PAK) bt [17/32] Ali B Al-Ramzi (KUW) 9-2, 9-2, 9-4
[5/8] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt [17/32] Vikas Jangra (IND) 9-1, 9-4, 9-3
Shah Nawaz (PAK) bt Sulaiman Al Khamees (KUW) 9-4, 9-4, 9-5
[9/16] Robin Clarke (CAN) bt Peter Creed (WAL) 9-7, 9-3, 9-5
[2] Khalid Atlas Khan (PAK) bt Joel Hinds (ENG) 9-6, 9-7, 9-0
Tue 17th August, First
& Second Rounds:
2nd round:
[1] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Ben Reece (AUS) 9-3, 9-2, 9-1
[17/32] Mohd Adnan (MAS) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 10-8, 9-5, 5-9, 9-5
Tamim El Waliby (EGY) bt [17/32] Michael Auer (CAN) 9-3, 9-5, 9-2
[9/16] Basit Ashfaq (PAK) bt Salem F Mohammed (KUW) 9-7, 9-1, 9-0
Benjamin Fischer (SUI) bt [9/16] Andrew Budd (AUS) 2-9, 6-9, 9-1, 9-5, 9-5
[17/32] Jens Schoor (GER) bt Reece Williams (NZL) 9-7, 9-1, 9-2
Aamir Khan (PAK) bt [17/32] Dick Lau (HKG) 9-2, 9-4, 10-9
[5/8] Tom Richards (ENG) bt Rob Wilkins (WAL) 9-2, 9-3, 9-1
[5/8] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Casper Coetzee (ZIM) 9-2, 9-1, 9-2
Aqib Hanif (PAK) bt [17/32] Steven Robinson (AUS) 9-4, 9-4, 9-2
Jamie Macaulay (SCO) bt Montafa Khalifa (EGY) 6-9, 9-1, 6-9, 9-0, 9-3
[9/16] James Wright (ENG) bt Vivian Rhamanan (SIN) 9-1, 9-1, 9-3
[9/16] Christopher Gordon (USA) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 9-4, 9-3, 9-3
[17/32] Sebastian Weenink (NED) bt Matthias Maierhofer (GER) 9-7, 9-7, 9-0
Abdullah Kh Al-Mezayin (KUW) bt [17/32] Muhammad Azfar Azan (MAS) 9-3,
10-9, 9-10, 9-4
[3/4] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt Nicolas Muller (SUI) 9-1, 9-1, 9-2
[3/4] Mahmoud Adel (EGY) bt Marc Te Witt (NED) 9-1, 9-6, 9-6
[17/32] Ahmed El Swaify (EGY) bt Bilal Zaman (PAK) 10-8, 9-5, 5-9, 9-7
[17/32] Kristen Johnson (SCO) bt Edmundo Garcia (MEX) 9-0, 9-7, 9-1
[9/16] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Matthew Karwalski (AUS) 9-6, 6-9, 9-6,
9-4
[9/16] Simon Rosner (GER) bt A Parthiban (IND) 9-2, 9-2, 9-5
[17/32] Lewys Hurst (WAL) bt Christopher Hall (ENG) 10-8, 10-9, 9-2
[17/32] Ali B Al-Ramzi (KUW) bt Whaiora Moeke (NZL) 9-2, 9-1, 9-1
[5/8] Yasir Butt (PAK) bt Raymond Chui (HKG) 9-1, 9-6, 9-2
[5/8] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Garnett Booth (USA) 9-3, 9-0, 9-6
[17/32] Vikas Jangra (IND) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 9-6, 9-5, 4-9, 1-9, 9-6
Sulaiman A Al-Khamees (KUW) bt Bastiaan Meulenbelt (NED) 9-2, 9-7, 9-6
Shah Nawaz (PAK) bt [9/16] Mohamed Anwar (EGY) 9-6, 5-9, 9-1, 9-1
[9/16] Robin Clarke (CAN) bt Anson Kwong (HKG) 9-5, 9-3, 9-6
Peter Creed (WAL) bt Graham Melvin (SCO) 4-9, 9-7, 6-9, 9-3, 9-7
Joel Hinds (ENG) bt Jesus Pena (MEX) 9-3, 9-4, 9-5
[2] Khalid Atlas Khan (PAK) bt Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 9-5, 9-2, 9-4
1st round:
Ben Reece (AUS) bt Tom Pashley (ENG) 9-1, 9-7, 9-2
Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Greg McArthur (SCO) 9-5, 9-0, 9-1
[17/32] Mohd Adnan (MAS) bt Mohammad Jafari (IRI) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Tamim El Waliby (EGY) bt Ho Fai Chui (HKG) 9-6, 9-3, 9-3
Salem F Mohammed (KUW) bt Amar Shah (KEN) 9-2, 9-1, 9-3
Benjamin Fischer (SUI) bt Mark Assaraf (ZIM) 9-0, 9-2, 9-0
Reece Williams (NZL) bt Brian Healy (IRL) 9-2, 9-1, 9-7
[17/32] Jens Schoor (GER) bt Martijn Kock (NED) 9-2, 9-7, 1-9, 9-0
[17/32] Dick Lau (HKG) bt Joseph Raho (USA) 9-3, 9-2, 9-3
Aamir Khan (PAK) bt Omar Abu Zid (EGY) 9-7, 5-9, 9-6, 9-2
Rob Wilkins (WAL) bt Randy Wynn (MAS) 9-6, 9-3, 9-6
Casper Coetzee (ZIM) bt Masud Ekhlas (IRI) 9-3, 9-5, 9-0
Aqib Hanif (PAK) bt Chris McEldowney (NZL) w/o
[17/32] Steven Robinson (AUS) bt Fearghal Field (IRL) 9-1, 9-1, 9-0
Jamie Macaulay (SCO) bt [17/32] Arturo Salazar (MEX) w/o
Vivian Rhamanan (SIN) bt Ben Hardwidge (WAL) 9-2, 9-5, 9-6
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Nathan Turnbull (AUS) 3-9, 9-7, 7-9, 9-1, 9-0
Matthias Maierhofer (GER) bt Michael Bill (NZL) 7-9, 9-1, 10-8, 9-6
[17/32] Sebastian Weenink (NED) bt Sandeep Jangra (IND) 9-1, 9-10, 9-3,
9-3
[17/32] Muhammad Azfar Azan (MAS) bt Leo Au (HKG) 8-10, 9-3, 4-9, 9-2, 9-1
Nicolas Muller (SUI) bt Ashok Shah (KEN) w/o
Marc Te Witt (NED) bt Suleyman Saleem (USA) 9-1, 9-1, 9-1
Bilal Zaman (PAK) bt Elyinn Chung (MAS) 9-6, 9-2, 9-1
[17/32] Ahmed El Swaify (EGY) bt Harinder Sandhu (IND) 9-4, 9-2, 9-2
[17/32] Kristen Johnson (SCO) bt Daniel Sibley (CAN) 9-0, 9-1, 7-9, 9-0
Edmundo Garcia (MEX) bt Samuel Olwill (IRL) 9-0, 9-2, 9-7
Matthew Karwalski (AUS) bt Cyrill Ortuer (SUI) 9-3, 9-4, 9-2
A Parthiban (IND) bt Ronak Shah (KEN) 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
Christopher Hall (ENG) bt Bassem Makram (EGY) 10-8, 9-5, 5-9, 9-5
[17/32] Lewys Hurst (WAL) bt Keith Pritchard (CAN) 9-6, 10-9, 9-3
[17/32] Ali B Al-Ramzi (KUW) bt Babak Shahabi (IRI) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Whaiora Moeke (NZL) bt Erick Tepos (MEX) 9-0, 9-7, 5-9, 4-9, 9-7
Raymond Chui (HKG) bt Deepesh Patel (ZIM) 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
Garnett Booth (USA) bt Pascal Tagaz (GER) 9-5, 9-5, 9-4
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Joshua Them (NZL) 9-6, 9-7, 9-3
[17/32] Vikas Jangra (IND) bt Chirag Shah (KEN) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Sulaiman A Al-Khamees (KUW) bt [17/32] Kevin Brechbuhl (SUI) 9-5, 6-9,
3-9, 9-6, 9-0
Bastiaan Meulenbelt (NED) bt Mohd Asyraf Azan (MAS) 9-4, 9-5, 5-9, 9-7
Shah Nawaz (PAK) bt Lyall Paterson (SCO) 9-0, 9-5, 9-0
Anson Kwong (HKG) bt Kamran Khan (MAS) 9-5, 9-2, 9-2
Graham Melvin (SCO) bt Mohammad Jahri (IRI) 9-2, 9-0, 9-0
Joel Hinds (ENG) bt [17/32] Craig Heath (ZIM) 9-0, 9-2, 9-1
Jesus Pena (MEX) bt Niall Caheny (IRL) 9-4, 9-0, 9-2
Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt Poojan Dodhia (KEN) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Ashour takes the
