KARACHI: All four Pakistan players advanced to the quarter-finals of the Pakistan Navy Fleet Club Open International Squash Championship as Hamza Khan, Noor Zaman, Asim Khan and Nasir Iqbal secured victories in the second round here at the Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan-Jahangir Khan Squash Complex on Saturday.

Hamza, fourth seed, edged Switzerland’s David Bernet in a marathon five-game thriller, prevailing 11-13, 14-12, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5 in a gruelling 70-minute encounter.

Noor, ranked 29th in the world, overcame Brazil’s Diego Gobbi in straight games 12-10, 11-5, 11-9.

“I was down in the first set, but I made some adjustments and thankfully was able to win,” the 22-year-old Noor said after the match.

Asim downed Hong Kong’s Matthew Lai 3-1 in a 40-minute contest, with game scores of 5-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5.

“I was under pressure after losing the first game as I am playing in a tournament after a long time,” Asim said. “But still I am able to win, so I feeling good.”

Veteran Nasir Iqbal continued his strong run, beating Egypt’s Yassin Shohdy 11-9, 11-5, 11-3.

In other second-round matches, Egypt’s Salman Khalil defeated Malaysia’s Yee Xian Siow 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 in 36 minutes, while compatriot Mohammed Naseer overcame Japan’s Naoki Hayashi 3-1 with scores of 6-11, 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 in 47 minutes.

In an all-Egyptian contest, Aly Tolba edged Karim El Hammamy 11-8, 11-13, 11-4, 6-11, 14-12 in an 85-minute battle. Another all-Egypt affair saw Yassin Elshafei down compatriot Abdullah Hafeez 8-11, 11-8, 11-2, 5-11, 16-14 in 50 minutes.

The quarter-finals will be all-Pakistan affairs, with Hamza, 20, taking on veteran Nasir while top seed Noor faces Asim.

About his upcoming match against Noor, Asim said he has a better record against him and hoped it would be an entertaining clash.

“I have played against him in so many matches before and I won majority of them,” Asim said. “We always have tight matches, so hopefully on Sunday it will also be an entertaining clash.”

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2026