By Abdul Jabbar Faisal
ISLAMABAD (December 18, 2019):-Tayyab Aslam and Farhan Mehboob set to meet in the Men’s Singles final of Serena Hotels-Huawei Pakistan International squash tournament after claiming upset victories in the semifinals at Mushaf Squash Complex on Wednesday. Final will be played on Thursday at same venue. President, Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) Air Chief Marshall, Mujahid Anwar will grace the closing ceremony as chief gust.
On Tuesday, in the first semifinal, Farhan Mehboob thrashed top seeded Egyptian players Youssef Ibrahim 3-2 in a well contested match. Local outfit Farhan gave a tough time to his overseas opponent in first two games that he lost at 9-11 and 14-16 and he came from behind and recover the deficit by winning the next two at 11-2 and 11-5 to bounce back in the match. Final game went neck-to-neck and score was leveled at 5-5, 7-7 and then 10-10. On tiebreak Farhan, who had massive support of Pakistani spectators, finished the game at 12-10. Match lasted 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, in the second semifinal, World No 60 Tayyab Aslam (Pakistan) outclassed World No 51 Mohamed El-Sherbini (Egypt) 3-1 to move into final of the international showpiece. The final score-line was 11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, as the match lasted for 46 minutes. Tayyab Aslam will meet compatriot Farhan Mehboob in the final on Thursday at same venue.
Earlier, in the 1st semifinal of the women’s fixture, World No 101 Hana Moataz (Egypt) got rid of compatriot girl World No 56 Farida Mohamed (Egypt) 3-2 in most thrilling match of event. Hana went up by winning first two games at 11-7 and 11-2 but her challenger Farida Mohamed settled her feet on the court and clinched next two games at 11-9 and 11-3. However, in the decisive game, both players displayed great skills of game. At one stage, Farida was leading 5-0 but couple of miss judgment decisions of match referee Sajjad Ahmed provided a chance to Hana to go in the final fixture. Score was squared at 7-7 and 9-9. Hana won the final game at 14-12, as people were criticizing the final decision of Sajjad Ahmed. Farida Mohamed was sobbing and crying outside the court and was talking over her mobile to her family member. But she did not make any comment on this issue.
In the second semifinal, World No 52 Sabrina Sobhy (USA) beat World No 58 Meena Hamed (Egypt) in straight games 3-0. The final score-line was 11-6, 11-9, 11-6, as the match lasted for 23 minutes. Final will be played on Thursday.
Results (Men’s semifinals):
Farhan Mehboob (Pakistan) beat Youssef Ibrahim (Egypt) 8-11, 14-16, 11-2, 11-5, 12-10 (50 minutes)
Tayyab Aslam (Pakistan) beat Mohamed ElSherbini (Egypt) 11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 (46 minutes)
Results (Women’s semifinals):
Hana Moataz (Egypt) beat Farida Mohamed (Egypt) 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 3-11, 14-12 (36 minutes)
Sabrina Sobhy (USA) beat Meena Hamed (Egypt) 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (23 minutes).
