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| December 10, 2002 | Tuesday | Shawwal 5,1423 |
Mansoor upsets Gough to reach last 16
ANTWERP (Belgium), Dec 9: Former world No3 Simon Parke and Pakistan’s new world No18 Mansoor Zaman both dismissed higher-ranked opposition in five games to create the only upsets in the second round of the $155,000 Men’s World Open squash championship on Sunday.
Parke, the 30-year-old world No26 from Nottingham who is climbing back up the rankings after ankle surgery more than a year ago, defeated the in-form thirteenth-seeded Australian Joseph Kneipp 9-15 17-15 15-7 13-15 15-11 in 89 minutes to set up an unexpected third round clash with another Australian, fourth seed Stewart Boswell.
Kneipp moved up to a career-high No11 world ranking this month after reaching the Canadian Classic semifinals unseeded in November. Boswell produced the speediest second round win crushing Pakistan’s Shahid Zaman 15-7 15-9 15-4 in just 28 minutes.
Shahid’s cousin Mansoor Zaman, son of the legendary former British Open champion Qamar Zaman, faired considerably better, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Welshman Alex Gough, the 16th seed, 4-15 16-17 15-12 17-14 15-7 in 76 minutes.
The left-hander from Peshawar was one of five Pakistanis whose visa application to enter Belgium was only granted at the eleventh hour following last-minute intervention by the World Open organisers and the PSA. Mansoor’s opponent in the last sixteen will be favourite Peter Nicol, the defending champion from England who took 49 minutes to overcome Italian qualifier Davide Bianchetti 15-8 15-4 15-13.
First signs emerged on Sunday of the promised disciplinary crackdown in squash when Belgian Stefan Casteleyn lost his second round match.
Casteleyn was handed a warning and then docked two conduct penalty points by referee Wendy Danzey, all for dissent.
The Belgian, a former World Open semifinalist, went on to lose 17-15 15-10 15-12 to John White, the world number five from Scotland.
The crackdown was announced on Friday by the World Squash Federation, stung by heavy criticism of recent incidents of unacceptable player behaviour.
Matters came to a head at last month’s Qatar Classic when fiery Australian David Palmer managed, against the rules, to have the referee changed after he had been penalised for blocking his opponent at a critical stage in the match.
Palmer has been displaced as president of the Professional Squash Association, the body that runs the men’s tour.
Defending champion Peter Nicol met few problems booking his third round slot, beating Italy’s Davide Bianchetti 15-8 15-4 15-13. The Briton now meets Pakistan’s Mansoor Zaman, the son of former world number one Qamar Zaman.
Second round results played on Sunday:
Peter Nicol (England) bt Davide Bianchetti (Italy) 15-8 15-4 15-13; Mansoor Zaman (Pakistan) bt Alex Gough (Wales) 15-4 16-17 12-15 17-14 15-7; Ong Beng Hee (Malaysia) bt Wael El Hindi (Egypt) 17-14 10-15 9-15 15-4 15-10; Anthony Ricketts (Australia) bt Nick Matthew (England) 15-10 15-13 15-5; Stewart Boswell (Australia) bt Shahid Zaman (Pakistan) 15-7 15-9 15-4; Simon Parke (England) bt Joseph Kneipp (Australia) 9-15 17-15 15-7 13-15 15-11; John White (Scotland) bt Stefan Casteleyn (Belgium) 17-15 15-10 15-12; Mark Chaloner (England) bt Nick Taylor (England) 17-15 15-9 15-10; Martin Heath (Scotland) bt Olli Tuominen (Finland) 9-15 12-15 15-9 15-5 15-13; Lee Beachill (England) bt Viktor Berg (Canada) 15-9 15-6 15-2—Reuters
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