CNS International

25-Nov, Final:
Beng Hee Rallies
to Karachi title

[3] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt Shahid Zaman (Pak)
6/11, 8/11, 11/6, 11/5, 11/8 (47m)

In a tournament distinguished by many comebacks from 0-2 down, the final was no exception as Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee disappointed local fans by staging one final recovery to thwart Pakistan's Shahid Zaman.

It was Beng Hee's thirteenth final appearance, and Shahid's third this year, and for both players it was their third five-game match of the tournament.

The young Pakistani took control from the outset, wrapping up the first two games in 20 minutes. But he could not hold on to the lead as Beng Hee fought back to dominate the final three games and claim his first title since January 2002.

"I got off to a good start by playing at a very fast pace," said Shahid, "but Beng Hee is a very clever player, and more experienced than me. He managed to slow it down and extend the rallies. After three hard matches I just started running out of steam, the match against [Graham] Ryding left me quite drained. I'm just not fit enough yet."

Shahid dashed straight to the airport to catch a flight to Doha where he plays his first qualifying round in the Qatar World Open tomorrow. Beng Hee is in the main draw so gets a couple of days rest ...

DRAW

CNS International 2004 Karachi, Pakistan, $25k
Round One Nov 22	Quarters Nov 23	Semis Nov 24	Final Nov 25
[1] Adrian Grant (Eng) 11/3, 5/2 rtd Amir Atlas Khan (Pak)	Adrian Grant 10-11 (0-2), 9-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 Wael El Hindi	Adrian Grant 11-8, 5-11, 11-10 (3-1), 7-11, 11-9 Ong Beng Hee	Ong Beng Hee 6/11, 8/11, 11/6, 11/5, 11/8 (47m) Shahid Zaman
[5] Wael El Hindi (Egy) 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8 [Q] Arshad Iqbal Burki (Pak)
[3] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-10 (7-5), 11-9 [Q] Farhan Mehboob (Pak)	Ong Beng Hee 11-10 (3-1), 7-11, 11-10 (3-1), 11-7 Bradley Ball
[7] Borja Golan (Esp) 11-5, 11-2, 4-11, 11-4 Bradley Ball (Eng)
Shahid Zaman (Pak) 11-7, 11-6, 4-11, 5-11, 11-7 [8] Hisham Mohd Ashour (Egy)	Shahid Zaman 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8 Davide Bianchetti	Shahid Zaman 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 Graham Ryding
[Q] Yasir Butt (Pak) 11-9, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7 [4] Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
[Q] Shamsul Islam Khan (Pak) 11-6, 11-9, 10-11 (1-3), 11-9 [6] Mansoor Zaman (Pak)	Mansoor Zaman 9-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 Graham Ryding
Majid Khan (Pak) 10-11 (1-3), 5-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-6 [2] Graham Ryding (Can)

Qualifying 20/21 Nov:

Finals:
Farhan Mehboob bt Khayal Mohammad 11-5, 11-7, 11-5
Arshad Iqbal Burki bt Bradley Hindle (Aus) 11-7, 11-5, 11-10 (3-1)
Shamsul Islam Khan bt Adil Maqbool 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9
Yasir Butt bt Khalid Atlas 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6

First Round:
Arshad Iqbal Burki (Pak) bt Bilal Zaman (pak) 11-4, 10-11, 10-11, 11-4, 11-1 (53m)
Yasir Butt (Pak) bt Saeed Hassan (Pak) 11-3, 9-11, 11-8, 11-10 (36m)
Khayal Muhammad (Pak) bt Jehanzeb Masood (Pak) 11-2, 11-9, 11-8 (33m)
Bradley Hindle (Aus) bt M Suleman 11-2, 11-0, 11-1 (10m)
Farhan Mehboob (Pak) bt Amjad KHan (Pak) 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)
Shams ul Islam (Pak) bt Farrukh Zaman (Pak) 10-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-10 (54m)
Adil Maqbool (Pak) bt Safeerullah Khan (Pak) 11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-6 (39m)
Khalid Atlas (Pak) bt Naveed Atlas (Pak) 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 (19m)

24-Nov, Semis:
Top Seeds Crash In Karachi

[3] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [1] Adrian Grant (ENG)
11-8, 5-11, 11-10 (3-1), 7-11, 11-9 (82m)
Shahid Zaman (PAK) bt [2] Graham Ryding (CAN)
11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9

Top seeds Adrian Grant and Graham Ryding crashed out of the semi-finals of the CNS International in Karachi, as unseeded Shahid Zaman kept domestic title hopes alive by winning a five-game thriller to set up a final against Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee, the third seed.

Shahid raises his Game
Local hero Shahid had reached the last four after ousting Italy's fourth seed Davide Bianchetti in the quarter-finals and upsetting Egypt's eighth seed Mohd Hisham Ashour in the first round.

The world No42 from Quetta was dominated by the fitter and faster Graham Ryding, the No2 seed, during the most of the action-packed encounter - but he managed to raise his game when it mattered most.

Zaman took the first game, but seemed to be down and out after losing the second and third games 6-11 7-11. But he staged a remarkable recovery in the next two games to the surprise of his opponent.

"I felt a bit tired after the third game but there was no way I was going to surrender without a fight. I gave the fourth game everything I had and that helped," Shahid told the Pakistan News International after the match.

The Pakistani came back from 6-7 down to take the fourth game 11-8. After going 0-3 down in the fifth game, Shahid made full use of his opponent's unforced errors to level scores at 5-5. He then exerted more pressure on Ryding through some excellent cross-courts and nicks to win the match 11-9 6-11 7-11 11-8 11-9 for a place in the final.

Beng Hee stuns Grant
Shahid may have been the hero of the day for local squash fans but it was Asian champion Ong Beng Hee who stole the limelight with a stunning 3/2 victory over England's top seed Adrian Grant in 82 minutes. The third-seeded Malaysian, bidding to regain a place in the top ten world rankings, kept his cool at crucial stages of the marathon encounter to win 11-8 5-11 11-10 7-11 11-9.

Shahid Zaman is celebrating his third PSA Tour final appearance this year, while Ong Beng Hee - runner-up only last month in the CAS International in Peshawar - is in the 13th professional final of his career, but looking for his first win since January 2002.

23-Nov, Quarters:
Mixed Fortunes For
Zamans In Karachi

Pakistani cousins Shahid and Mansoor Zaman enjoyed mixed fortunes in the quarter-finals of the CNS International in Karachi, Pakistan.

Unseeded Shahid, 22, from Quetta, followed up his thrilling first round win over eighth seed Mohd Hisham Ashour with victory fourth seed Davide Bianchetti, the Italian ranked 13 places higher. Shahid raced to a 5-0 lead in the first game, and went on to set up a 2/0 lead.

Unforced errors from the home player enabled Bianchetti to get the third game, but Shahid came back in the fourth to win 11-7 11-9 6-11 11-8 and become the only Pakistani through to the last four.

Pakistan No1 Mansoor, the left-handed son of famed player Qamar Zaman, looked set to meet his cousin in the semi-finals when he forged a 2/0 lead against second seed Graham Ryding. However, the 24-year-old world No26 from Peshawar was unable to maintain the pressure on the Canadian. Ryding, who only four days earlier was competing in the semi-finals of the Pace Credit Union Canadian Classic in Toronto, reclaimed the initiative and swept to a 9-11 8-11 11-3 11-4 11-4 win over the sixth seed - his second successive comeback from 0-2 down.

The other semi-final will feature England's top seed Adrian Grant and Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee, the third seed. Grant recovered from 0/2 down to beat Egypt's fifth seed Wael El Hindi 10-11 9-11 11-4 11-9 11-7 while Beng Hee beat England's unseeded Bradley Ball 11-10 7-11 11-10 11-7.

22-Nov, First Round:
Seeds Stretched In Karachi

On a disappointing day for the host nation in Karachi, two of the top seeds needed to stage fighting comebacks to reach the quarter-finals.

Eight Pakistani players had made it to the first round, but only two survived to the quarters. Pakistan's top player Mansoor Zaman fought off a determined challenge from countryman Shamsul Islam Khan, while cousin Shahid Zaman ousted eighth seed Hisham Moh'd Ashour in five games. A collision at the end of the first game left Shahid with blood pouring from a cut lip, but after an hour's recovery he returned to take the second. Ashour staged a fine recovery, levelling the match and movin 6-1 ahead in the fifth before Shahid staged his own recovery to take the game 11-7 to the delight of the home crowd.

In the quarter-finals Shahid meets Italy's Davide Bianchetti, but the Zaman cousins' victories was the only good news for Pakistan.

England's top seeded Adrian Grant enjoyed an untroubled passage into the quarters as Amir Atlas Khan retired during the second game, but the second and third seeds both needed no fight their way back from 0-2 down.

Asian champion Ong Beng Hee was almost on the receiving end of a spectacular upset at the hands of Asian Junior Champion Farhan Mehboob. Mehboob took a 2-0 lead in two close games, and led 7-2 in the third before Beng Hee found his form to pull a game back, take the fourth on a tie-break and squeeze home 11-9 in the fifth.

Canada's second seed Graham Ryding also found himself two games down, to Majid Khan, but comfortably reeled off the final three games to avoid an upset.

22-Nov, Qualifying:
Eight Pakistanis in CNS first round
The opening round of the CNS International in Karachi features eight home players, with four qualifiers joining the four already in the draw.

Asian junior champion Farhan Mehboob, 16-year-old nephew of former world champion Jansher Khan, beat ex-Pakistan junior team captain Khayal Mohammad in straight games, and now faces Asian senior champion and third seed Ong Beng Hee in the opening round.

The other qualifiers were Arshad Iqbal Burki, Shams-ul-Islam Khan and Yasir Butt.