Sports Bulletin

Abdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD: Egyptian lad, Ibrahim Elkabbanni will be top seed player of the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) International Squash Championship, which will be held from November 18 to 22, 2024 at Mushaf Squash Complex in the premises of Pakistan Sports Complex.Secretary, Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF), Ammir Nawaz told this scribe that players for 8 foreign countries would also participate in the championship. “Local 7 players are in the list of 24 players. Also, 5 from Egypt, 4 from Malaysia, 2 from England, 2 from Kuwait and one each from Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands are among 24 players. Anas Ali Shah, Abdullah Nawaz, and Farhan Mehboob got the wild card entries. Noor Zaman is the second seeded player of CAS Squash Championship 2024, “he added.“Mohammad Ashab Khan, Nasir Iqbal, Tayyab Aslam are also seeding players. Our players are toiling hard under the supervision of coach Fahim Gul and we hope our players will perform up to mark. Tournament is pursuing prize money of US$ 15,000, which will be disbursed according to rules of Professional Squash Association (PSA), “he concluded. 

Sports Bulletin ReportKARACHI: Sakhiullah Khan and Shamlan Gul reached the final of the Al Baraka Bank Jahangir Khan Squash Championship after beating their respective opponents here at the Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex on Sunday.Sakhiullah of Punjab defeated Kameel Tariq in a one-sided contest in the Under-19 Boys’ semifinal. He finished the match at 11-5, 13-11, and 11-4. In the second semifinal, Shamlan Gul of Punjab outclassed Ibrahim Mohib of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 3-0. Shamlan emerged victorious with scores of 11-8, 11-7 and 11-8. The final will be played on Monday at the same venue.

KARACHI (PR):  Jehangir Khan PSA Satellite Squash Series match concluded with the victory of Mohammad Imad Gul of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) here at Pakistan Navy (PN) Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex.In the men's final, Mohammad Imad Gul of Pakistan Air Force defeated Sakhiullah of Punjab by three games to one. Emad's winning score was 3-11, 6-11, 11-7 and 8-11. In the under 19 boys final, Mohammad Zaman easily outclassed Abdul Basit by 3-0. Mohammad Zaman won the title with the score-lone of 6-11, 8-11 and 7-11 in just 22 minutes. In the under 14 boys final, Sulaiman Khan defeated Fazal ur Rehman by three games to two after a thrilling contest. Sulaiman Khan won by 9-11, 11-6, 11- 9, 9-11, and 8-11. Prize money of four hundred and fifteen thousand rupees was distributed among the players who performed outstandingly. Special guest former world champion Jahangir Khan distributed prizes among the players. 

Sports Bulletin ReportKARACHI: The Jahangir Khan PSA Satellite Squash Series will start on September 18 (Wednesday) at the Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex in Karachi in collaboration with Friends of Pakistan. As many as 32 players will participate in the fixture and fight for the top honour.According to an official, the total prize money for the tournament is USD 1,000. Additionally, two local categories, Boys Under-13 and Boys Under-19 will be played on Friday at the same venue. 

Sports Bulletin ReportKARACHI: Anas Ali Shah has won the title of the Jahangir Khan PSA Satellite Series 2024 after beating Saddam-ul-Haq in straight games 3-0 in the final at the PN Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex in Karachi. In a thrilling men's final, Anas Shah outpaced fellow Pakistan Army player Saddamul Haq 3-1, dominating the match from start to finish. After losing the first game 5-11, Anas made a strong comeback and won the next three games by 11-5,11-6,11-8 to claim the title in 32 minutes. In the U-17 category, Adnan Zaman showcased exceptional skill, defeating Zuhaib Khan 3-0 to claim the title. The finals were graced by squash legend Jahangir Khan and Atif Wasi, who distributed prizes among the winners and runners-up. Jahangir Khan said: "We have a wealth of squash talent in Pakistan, and we're working to provide them with maximum international exposure to help them excel. However, we urgently need government and corporate investment to support these players and reclaim Pakistan's squash glory."

Sports Bulletin ReportKARACHI: Besides top seed, Saddam Ul Haq, Sakhi ullah, Anas Ali Shah, and Shahab Khan moved into the semifinals of the ongoing Jahangir Khan PSA Satellite Series Squash Championship 2024 after thrashing their respective challengers Fawad sharif (3-0), Abdullah Butt (3-0), Zain Anwar (3-0), and Abdul Basit (3-2) respectively here at PN Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex on Sunday. The semifinals will be played on Monday at the same venue at 10:00am.In the last quarterfinal, Shahab Khan toiled hard on the court to tide-over his opponent Abdul Basit 3-2 in a well contested five games affair. The final score-line was 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, as the match lasted 50 minutes.Results (Round-2):Saddam Ul Haq beat Sikander Khan (3-2) 9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 7-11, 11-4 (33 minutes)Fahad Sharif beat Mohammad Babar (3-1) 11-7, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6 (33 minutes)Sakhi ullah beat Hurraira Khan (3-1) 11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 11-3 (23 minutes)Abdullah Butt beat Varun Asif (3-2) 9-11, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 12-8 (47 minutes)Anas Ali shah beat Azan Khalil (3-1) 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-1 (32 minutes)Zain Anwar beat Hassan Pracha (3-1) 10-12, 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (27 minutes)Shahab Khan beat Shayan Khan (3-0) 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 (18 minutes)Abdul Basit beat Cavish Farrukh (3-0) 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (18 minutes)Results (Quarterfinals): Saddam Ul Haq beat Fawad sharif (3-0) 11-5, 11-5, 11-9 (27 minutes)Sakhi ullah beat Abdullah Butt (3-0) 11-9, 11-1, 11-6 (19 minutes)Anas Ali Shah beat Zain Anwar (3-0) 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (28 minutes)Shahab Khan beat Abdul Basit (3-2) 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5 (50 minutes)

Farhad Shraif, Zain Anwar, and Shahab Khan clinch thrilling victories on opening daySports Bulletin ReportKARACHI: Farhad Shraif, Zain Anwar, and Shahab Khan posted thrilling victories on opening day of the Jahangir Khan PSA Satellite Series Squash Championship 2024, which got underway here at PN Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex on Saturday.Shahab Khan overcame Mohammad Zaman 3-2 with the score-line of 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, and 13-11, as the match lasted 43 minutes. It was best contest of the day that was enjoyed by the spectators.Results (Day-1):Saddam ul Haq beat Shahzad (3-1) 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 (36 minutes)Sikander Khan beat Kamran Khan (3-0) 11-6, 11-3, 11-1 (22 minutes)Mohammad Babar beat Fawad Hussain (3-1) 5-11, 13-11, 11-5, 11-8 (37 minutes)Fahad Sharif beat Hikmat yar Khan (3-2) 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8 (52 minutes)Sakhi ullah Khan beat Kumail Tariq (3-0) 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (22 minutes)Hurraira Khan beat Ch Nasir (3-0) 11-4, 11-7, 11-6 (20 minutes)Varun Asif beat Mohammad Ishaq (3-1) 4-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-9 (20 minutes)Abdullah Butt beat Naveed Rehman (3-1) 11-3, 13-11, 7-11, 11-9 (35 minutes)Anas Ali shah beat Mohammad Ali (3-0) 11-2, 11-8, 11-6 (18 minutes) Azan Khalil beat Shahzad Khan (3-0) 11-5, 11-7, 13-11 (26 minutes)Hassan Pracha beat Mohammad Fawad (3-0) 11-7, 11-7, 11-3 (19 minutes)Zain Anwer beat Mohammad Ahmed (3-2) 5-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 11-1 (38 minutes)Shahab Khan beat Mohammad Zaman (3-2) 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 13-11 (43 minutes)Shayan Khan beat Haji nawab khan (3-0) 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 (20 minutes)Cavish Farrukh beat Kashi Khan (3-0) 11-3, 11-1, 11-7 (19 minutes) Abdul Basit beat Zuhaib Khan (3-0) 11-7, 11-6 , 11-6 (21 minutes).

Pakistan journey ends in quarterfinals of Team Event, Colombia outplay Pakistan 2-1Sports Bulletin ReportHouston, Texas (USA): Pakistan Squash Team ended their journey after losing quarterfinal against a low seeding Colombia 2-1 in the WSF World Junior Team Squash Championship at Houston Squash Club, Texas United States of America (USA) on July 21, 2024. Mohammad Hamza Khan and Mohammad Tayyab lost their matches while Abdullah Nawaz defeated his opponent.In the men’s event, Colombia and Republic of Korea reached the semi-finals for the first time, while in the women’s event Canada achieved a first semi-final since 1987. Team USA also earned a national record medal haul, with the women's and men's team guaranteed at least bronzes after quarter-final wins, to accompany the bronze medal won by Caroline Fouts in the individual event.Colombia went into the team event having fallen short of the high expectations they set for themselves in the individual event last week, with none of their players progressing beyond the round of 16. The South American side have found redemption in the team event, however, earning a quarter-final berth for the first time with a 2-0 win over Kuwait. They went one better, going into the record books with a brilliant display against five-time champions Pakistan.Things started poorly for Colombia as Pakistan edged into the lead thanks to a hotly-contested 3-2 win for Abdullah Nawaz, before Juan Torres came from a game down to beat an out of sorts Hamza Khan to send the tie to a decider. In the crucial match, a stop-start and at times bad-tempered encounter, Jose Santamaria proved to be the hero as he fought back from a game down to beat Mohammad Ammad 4-11, 13-12, 11-8, 12-10.Colombia's coach Martin Knight said afterwards: "I think the emotion out there from the crowd says it all! It was the first time we'd reached the top ten but we weren't content with that. I was fully confident that we could win. As a country, Colombia, we've increased participation, levels and training and we knew coming in that we had a very good team. It didn't go as well as we'd have like in the individual result, but we knew the depth we had and were confident that if we put in a good performance today we'd have every chance."In the women’s draw, Canada returned to the last four for the first time in 37 years thanks to valiant efforts from twins Spring and Ocean Ma. Spring Ma got the 5/6 seeds off to a dream start with a surprisingly routine win over Tsz Ching Cheung, before Ocean Ma dug in to record a bruising 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10 victory to the joy - and tears - of her teammates.The other semi-final will see hosts USA take on Malaysia. USA breezed past England to secure semi-finals for the second year in succession, while Malaysia came through an epic battle with India, with Doyce Lee recovering from 1-2 and 4-9 down in game four to beat Nirupama Dubey 11-7, 7-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-3.Results (Women's Quarter-Finals):Egypt beat New Zealand (2-0):Nadien Elhammamy beat Anabel romero Gemmell 3-0: 11-6, 11-1, 11-0Fayrouz Aboelkheir beat Ella Lash 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-5Janna Swaify w/d Ella HillCanada beat Hong Kong, China (2-0):Spring Ma beat Tsz Ching Cheung 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-4Ocean Ma beat Ena Kwong 3-1: 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10Maria Min w/d Helen TangMalaysia beat India (2-1):Whitney Wilson beat Shameena Riaz 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 12-10Thanusaa Uthrian lost to Anahat Singh 2-3: 11-6, 13-15, 6-11, 11-5, 6-11Doyce Lee beat Nirupama Dubey 3-2: 11-7, 7-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-3USA beat England (3=0):Riya Navani beat Mariam Eissa 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-5Caroline Fouts beat Amelie Haworth 3-0: 11-2, 11-9, 11-4Sam Jaffe beat Emily Coulcher-Porter 2-0: 11-9, 11-6Results (Men's Quarter-Finals):USA beat South Africa (2-0):Rishi Srivastava beat Connor Earl 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-4Zane Patel beat Luhann Groenewald 3-1: 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9Alexander Dartnell w/d Devon OsborneRepublic of Korea beat India (2-1):Seojin Oh lost to Yuvraj Wadhwani 2-3: 7-11, 11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11Joo Young Na beat Shaurya Bawa 3-1: 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6Kun Kim beat Arihant KS 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-9Colombia beat Pakistan (2-1):Juan Irisarri lost to Abdullah Nawaz 2-3: 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 3-11, 7-11Juan Torre beat Hamza Khan 3-1: 11-13, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3Jose Santamaria beat Mohammad Ammad 3-1: 4-11 14-12 11-8 12-10Egypt beat England (2-0):Marwan Assal beat Yusuf Sheikh 3-1: 13-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6Mohamad Zakaria beat AbdAllah Eissa 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-8Marwan Abdelsalam w/d Bailey Malik.

Sports Bulletin ReportHouston (USA): Egypt enjoyed a perfect day in the individual finals of the WSF World Junior Squash Championships in Houston, USA, as Amina Orfi won an unprecedented third consecutive title and Mohamad Zakaria became the youngest ever male champion.Orfi, 17, who won the 2022 edition in France and the 2023 edition in Australia, came into today’s final against compatriot and No.2 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir knowing that a win would not only see her draw level with Egyptian legend Nour El Sherbini’s record haul of three titles, but put her in a class of her own as the only player to win three consecutively.The top seed, who like Aboelkheir went into today’s final in Texas having not dropped a single game, looked edgy early on as Aboelkheir made the brighter start, but eventually settled to take the opener 11-7. The 17-year-old then doubled her lead after a mammoth 23-minute second game, with Orfi seeing four game balls saved before eventually converting. That win put the wind in her sails and, in a fractious third game, she closed out 11-5 to cap a famous victory.Top seed Zakaria, meanwhile, a beaten finalist last year in Melbourne, went into his clash with Republic of Korea’s Joo Young Na as the firm favourite, with the 16-year-old yet to drop a game during an efficient run.[9/16] seed Na, meanwhile, had defied all expectations to become the first ever Korean to reach the final of a World Championship, with his 3-2 win over defending champion Hamza Khan in the quarter-final sending shockwaves through the tournament.Zakaria spoke ahead of the match of the danger presented by Na, and his tactics bore that out as Zakaria played a patient game, attacking only whenever the opportunity presented itself.This plan proved effective, with Na, who played five games in his semi-final and quarter-final, hitting some spectacular shots but failing to consistently hurt Zakaria.After taking the first game 11-6, the top seed moved into a commanding lead with an 11-4 win in game two.Na dug in desperately in game three but could not dislodge Zakaria, with the 16-year-old holding him at arm’s length throughout and, after a tense wait on a video referee decision on match ball, clinched the title with another 11-6 win.That win for Zakaria means he becomes the youngest ever male winner of the championship, eight days younger than previous record holder Jansher Khan in 1986 and 28 days younger than Ramy Ashour, the last 16-year-old to win, in 2004.Result: 2024 WSF World Junior Championship, Women’s Final[1] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [2] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 15-13, 11-5 (48m)Result: WSF World Junior Squash Championships Men’s Final[1] Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) bt [9/16] Joo Young Na 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (37m)Medallists: 2024 WSF World Junior ChampionshipGold: Amina Orfi (EGY) and Mohamad Zakaria (EGY)Silver: Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) and Joo Young Na (KOR)Bronze: Caroline Fouts (USA), Nadien Elhammamy (EGY) and Shaurya Bawa (IND), Harith Danial (MAS)

Sports Bulletin ReportHouston, Texas (USA): Korean lad Joo Young Na claimed his second back-to-back upset victory after overcoming Malaysia’s Harith Danial 3-2 to become the first-ever Korean to reach the final of a WSF World Junior Squash Championship.The 17-year-old [9/16] seed, who captured headlines yesterday with a shock win over reigning champion Hamza Khan, looked in trouble when he went 0-2 down to the dominant Danial. The Korean, however, channelled all his mental and physical fortitude after game two, taking full advantage of the ball softening up to begin to hurt the Malaysian.Danial’s conservative and watchful strategy, which had served so well in the opening games, began to unravel as Na built momentum, with the Korean retrieving nearly every ball and looking increasingly confident on the attack as he wiped out Danial’s lead with 11-7 and 11-4 wins before etching his name into the record books with an 11-2 victory in the fifth game.Na is the lowest seeded player to qualify for the men's final since Egypt's Omar Elatmas, who reached the final of the 2014 edition in Windhoek, Namibia as [9/16] seed. "Thank you all so much for always cheering, supporting, and taking interest. I will fight for it tomorrow, too. We will do our best to shine for Korea," Na said afterwards.Na will take on Egypt’s Mohamad Zakaria in the final, with the top seed playing a measured game as he beat India’s Shaurya Bawa in straight games to reach the final for a second year in a row. “This year, I was extremely focused because I messed up last year [Zakaria was defeated in last year’s final by Hamza Khan]! I know all my mistakes now and have made significant improvements, but the job is so far from done,” Zakaria said.Zakaria isn’t the only returning finalist, with Amina Orfi’s mission to become the first ever player to win three consecutive titles still alive after a typically efficient win today against compatriot Nadien Elhammamy.Orfi, crowned champion in France in 2022 and Australia in 2023, was in control throughout against the [3/4] seed, wrapping up the match with 11-7, 11-1, 11-6 wins.Afterwards, Orfi said: “I don’t think [playing an Egypt teammate] really affects my play because everyone is different; not all Egyptians play the same and there’s no one characteristic. Sometimes it’s good to have your Egyptian coaches cheering for you, but I don’t think it makes that much of a difference and I’m just looking forward to tomorrow."Facing Orfi tomorrow is another teammate, No.2 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir, who ensured there would be an all-Egyptian final as she ended home hopes with an 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 win over American [3/4] seed Caroline Fouts.After her match, Aboelkheir explained that she felt relieved to have delivered an all-Egyptian final after her loss in the semi-finals last year to Malaysia’s Aira Azman ended an incredible 10-year run of all-Egyptian finals.“I’m really happy this year [that it will be an all-Egyptian final] because last year I broke that 10-year record. I’m glad that I’m starting it again! I’m just trying to start a new record for Egypt,” Aboelkheir said.The 2024 WSF World Junior Squash Championships finals take place tomorrow, 17 July. Play begins at 13:30 (GMT-5) with the women's final, followed by the men's final at 14:30. Head to WORLDSQUASH.TV to watch all the action live and free.Results: 2024 WSF World Junior Championships, Women’s Semi-Finals[1] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [3/4] Nadien Elhammamy (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-1, 11-6 (35m)[2] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt [3/4] Caroline Fouts (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 (26m)Results: 2024 WSF World Junior Championships, Men’s Semi-Finals[1] Mohamad Zakaria bt Shaurya Bawa (IND) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-9 (41m)[9/16] Jooyoung Na (KOR) bt [9/16] Harith Danial (MAS) 3-2: 8-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 (59m)