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08-Sep, Final:
[1] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [7] Farhan Mehboob (Pak)
        11/7, 11/8, 11/7 (38m)

Darwish thumps Farhan in Karachi
Report from Dawn

Egypt’s world No 11 and top seed Karim Darwish recaptured Chief of the Naval Staff International Squash title, inflicting straight defeat on seventh seeded home player Farhan Mehboob on Saturday. He took just 38 minutes to post 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 victory against the promising Peshawar player in the final at the PN Roshan-Jahangir Squash Complex.

Karim had beaten Mohammad Abbas in the all-Egypt final to land the previous crown in 2002. With the exception of inaugural edition in 2000, the title has eluded Pakistan on the past seven occasions.

“It’s an honour to win the title on Pakistan soil which has produced a galaxy of stars,” a jubilant Karim told reporters after the final.

On course up to the final, he edged Tony James (Australia) in the opener, Shahid Zaman in quarter-final and qualifier Yasir Butt in semi-final. Farhan, on the other hand, pulled two major upsets when he eliminated better ranked fellow countrymen Aamir Atlas Khan (quarter-final) and Mansoor Zaman (semi-final). Playing his first final of the CNS squash, Farhan though put up resistance but bowed down due to lack of experience.

The 18-year-old Farhan, whose world ranking slipped to 54 due to injury, leaves for London next week to appear in British Open as a qualifier. He aims to come into top 30 soon.

Karim received a winning purse of US $3,971 and a glittering trophy while Farhan got richer by US $ 2,717 in addition to runner-up trophy from chief guest Vice Admiral Noman Bashir, Commander, Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK).

The senior vice-president of Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) Air Vice Marshal Asim Suleiman, who was also present on the occasion, wasted no time in announcing an additional Rs100,000 for Farhan and Rs25,000 apiece for losing finalists Yasir and Mansoor.

Meanwhile, a large number of guests including journalists and photographers were denied entry into the complex by the security sleuths who shut the main gate and refused to open it despite repeated requests. The act of high-handedness from the security officials left a bad taste in the mouth on the final day of this high profile championship.
   

Yasir Butt

11/7, 11/8, 11/7 (38m)
 

Farhan Mehboob

Mansoor Zaman

Qualifying:

Finals, 04-Sep:
Yasir Butt bt Arshad Iqbal Burki                     11-5, 11-9, 11-7
M. Shoaib Hassan bt Safeerullah Khan            11-10, 10-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-3
Waqar Mehboob bt Kashif Khan                      8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 3-11, 11-4
Shamsul Islam Khan bt Ahmad Hameed          11-6, 11-5, 11-6

First Round, 03-Sep:
  Yasir Butt bt Aqib Hanif                               11-3, 11-0, 11-9
  Arshad Iqbal Burki bt Farhan Zaman            11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 11-2
  Safeerullah Khan bt Khawaja Adil Maqbool    (retd due to illness)
  M. Shoaib Hassan bt Amjad Khan                 11-3, 11-3 (retd)
  Waqar Mahboob bt Jahanzeb Masood           11-8, 11-8, 11-7
  Kashif Khan bt Bilal Zaman                         11-8, 11-10, 11-2
  Ahmad Hameed bt Tariq Manzoor                (retd hurt)
  Shamsul Islam Khan bt Shahroze Khan        11-7, 11-6, 11-6


 

07-Sep, SEmis:
Farhan outplays Mansoor to reach final
Report from Dawn, By Anwar Zuberi

KARACHI, Sept 7: Seventh seed Farhan Mehboob stamped his authority when he toppled second seed and compatriot Mansoor Zaman for the third time in a month to breeze into the Chief of the Naval Staff International squash championship final on Friday.

Giving yet another awesome performance, Farhan sent shock waves when he handed out a 11-9, 11-4, 11-5 defeat to Mansoor in 29 minutes at the PN Roshan-Jahangir Squash Complex.

He is slated to meet Egypt’s top seed Karim Darwish who lived up to his top billing when he halted the winning run of qualifier Yasir Butt in straight sets in the other pre-final. The Egyptian took 24 minutes to wrap up the match 11-6, 11-5, 11-2.

Curtain falls on the four-day championship on Saturday when Karim faces Farhan for the glory. This will be their first-ever clash in any international event.

“Winning the first set was essential to bring the opponent under pressure in the match and the strategy clicked affectively,” Farhan, 18, who had beaten Mansoor in the Malaysian Open in five sets and CAS Open straight last month, told Dawn.

World No 54 Farhan, who had British and Asian junior titles under his belt, had overcome world No 24 Aamir Atlas Khan in the quarter-finals on Thursday. He had the match on his side once he won the closely fought opener 11-9. Contrary to the first, he claimed the next two sets 11-4, 11-5 with ease by hitting winners.

Qualifier Yasir who caught the eye in earlier matches by getting the better of Ireland’s Liam Kenny and Australian Bradley Hindle met the fate tasting straight defeat at the hands of Karim.

“I was exhausted after playing two tough matches and that’s why I failed to deliver against my opponent who has been world No 5 in the past,” the Lahore-based Yasir told Dawn.

Yasir surged 3-0 and 4-1 up only to be tied 4-4 and 5-5 in the opener. Taking advantage of his opponent’s unforced errors, Karim earned four points in a row to surge 9-5 before winning 11-6. At times the two players were engaged in long rallies in the second set. The Egyptian had a sway as he delighted spectators with his cross court shots and raced to earn a 10-3 lead. He conceded two points, the second through a stroke, before winning 11-5.

The Egyptian faced no resistance as he wrapped up the match taking the third set 11-2 scoring winners one after the other.
 

06-Sep, Quarters:
Yasir marches on in Karachi
Report from Dawn

Three home players including a qualifier were among the four who stormed into the semi-finals of the eighth Chief of Naval Staff International Squash Championship after emerging victorious at the PN Roshan-Jahangir Squash Complex on Thursday.

Qualifier Yasir Butt continued his giant killing run when he sent 11th seed Australian Bradley Hindle packing in straight sets. Fresh from his triumph over fourth seed Liam Kenny from Ireland on Wednesday, he crossed another hurdle by overcoming his Australian opponent 11-7, 11-9, 11-10 in 25-minutes.

A tough task awaits Yasir as he is drawn to meet top seed and world No 11 Karim Darwish from Egypt in the second semi-final on Friday. Karim had a smooth sailing over sixth seed Shahid Zaman, runner-up to Malaysian Ong Beng Hee in 2004, as he came out of the court smiling in just 18 minutes.

The Egyptian gave no room to world No 48 and was quick to wrap up the match 11-2, 11-6, 11-3. Karim had landed the title in 2002 when he edged Mohammad Abbas in an all-Egyptian final.

Giving yet another scintillating performance, the seventh seed Farhan Mehboob toppled third seed Aamir Atlas Khan in four sets. He conceded the second set on his way to winning the battle 11-3, 10-11, 11-8, 11-7 in 46 minutes.

Farhan is slated to face the second seed and three-time runner-up, Mansoor Zaman, who accounted for The Netherlands’ fifth seed Dylan Bennett 11-7, 11-7, 11-4 in 26 minutes.

05-Sep, Round One:
Yasir & Bradley upset the
seedings in Karachi
Report from Dawn

KARACHI, Sept 5: Two seeded players were knocked out on the opening day of the eighth Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) International Squash Championship at the PN Roshan-Jahangir Squash Complex on Wednesday.

Pakistan’s qualifier Yasir Butt created quite a stir when he stunned fourth seed Liam Kenny of Ireland in straight sets to advance into the quarter-finals. Playing one of the best matches of his career, the world No 69 Yasir took 36 minutes to overcome the 34th-ranked Kenny 11-10, 11-7, 11-8.

Yasir is drawn to meet Australia’s 11th seed Bradley Hindle, who pulled off another surprise when he humbled eighth seed Amr Swelim from Egypt, 11-7, 11-10, 11-6, in a 37-minute duel.

Sixth seed Shahid Zaman survived a scare when he recovered from two sets down to beat the lone wildcard entrant, Shah Nawaz, in a five-set thriller. Luck was not on Shah Nawaz’s side who, after taking two sets, was tied 7-7 all in the third when he committed an error only to see the match slip from his hands.

The world No 48 Shahid, who won the 51-minute all-Pakistan battle, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6, now meets the world No 11 and top seed Karim Darwish. The Egyptian was quick to see off 10th seed Australian Tony James, 11-5, 11-5, 11-3, in just 26 minutes.

Second seed Mansoor Zaman demolished the qualifier Waqar Mehboob, 11-4, 11-8, 11-5, in 20 minutes. The title has eluded Mansoor on three occasions when he lost after making the final grade. He now faces The Netherlands’ Dylan Bennett, who accounted for Egypt’s Sherif Kemel 11-9, 11-5, 11-7.

Third seed Aamir Atlas Khan also propelled in the last eight when his opponent qualifier M. Shoaib Hassan retired after trailing 0-6 in the second set. Aamir had won the opener 11-5. Aamir will be up against compatriot Farhan Mehboob, who got the better of qualifier Shamsul Islam Khan, 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 11-3.

The four-day championship was inaugurated by Commander Karachi, Rear Admiral Bakhtiar Mohsin.