ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Noor Zaman, Hamza Khan and Nasir Iqbal delivered commanding performances, powering into the quarter-finals of the CAS-Serena Hotels International Squash Championship to the delight of the home crowd at the Mushaf Squash Complex on Tuesday.
The day, however, saw the campaigns of other Pakistani hopefuls, Mohammad Ammad and Anas Shah, come to an end.
Noor — the Under-23 World Squash Champion — was in scintillating form, dispatching Egypt’s Adam Hawal 12-10, 11-9, 11-5 in a match that lasted 31 minutes.
In an all-Pakistani clash, Hamza overcame a first-game setback to defeat compatriot Mohammad Asim Khan 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 in a 46-minute match.
The day’s standout result came from unseeded Nasir, who produced a stunning upset against Egypt’s seventh-seeded Ibrahim Elkabbani.
In a 46-minute thriller, Nasir traded blows with the higher-ranked Egyptian, eventually securing a 11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-4 victory. After losing the second game decisively, the 31-year-old Nasir reasserted his dominance to clinch a memorable win.
There was disappointment elsewhere for the home nation.
Wild card entrant Ammad put up a fierce fight but fell to Egypt’s Yassin Shohdy in a marathon match that lasted 69 minutes. Similarly, Anas was outclassed by Switzerland’s David Bernet, who recovered from losing the first game to win 11-13, 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 in 44 minutes.
In other key matches of the day, Egypt’s top seed Karim El Hamamy survived a major scare against Japan’s Tomotaka Endo.
After losing the first game and barely saving game balls in the second, El Hamamy steadied himself to move ahead 5-11, 14-12, 11-6, 11-4 in 54 minutes.
The match of the day proved to be an epic battle between Khaled Labib of Egypt and Hong Kong’s Henry Leung. Labib eventually triumphed 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 12-14, 14-12 in a seesaw thriller that lasted 76 minutes.
Another player from Egypt emerged triumphant as Moustafa Elsirty downed Malaysia’s Mohammad Syafiq Kamal 11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 11-5 to complete the quarter-finals line-up.
Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2025
