January 20, 2003	Monday	Ziqa'ad 16, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: The final of the COAS International Squash Championship will not feature a Pakistani after the country’s only remaining flag-bearer Farrukh Zaman fell to Muhammad Abbas of Egypt in the semifinals on Sunday.

Abbas’s 15-7, 17-14, 15-14 victory in 40 minutes on the centre court of the Roshan Khan Complex made the final of the $25,000 championship an all-Egyptian affair as top seed Karim Darwesh outplayed compatriot Omar Elborossy in Sunday’s second semifinal 15-7, 15-6, 15-10.

Farrukh Zaman, ranked 49, put up a good fight but Abbas’s superior reach and intelligent strokes gave the 22-year-old Egyptian an edge.

Abbas, who defeated Pakistan’s major hope Mansoor Zaman, in Saturday’s quarterfinals, stayed ahead virtually throughout the first game as Farrukh tried in vain to catch up.

However the second game was a close contest with scores being level at least nine times, the last at 14-14 after which Abbas broke away, earning three more points to clinch it.

With two games down, Farrukh nearly won the third and was up 11-8 at one stage but squandered that advantage as Abbas came fighting back to level the scores at 12-all. The game remained delicately poised with both players at par at 13-13 and then again at 14-14.

It was not to be Farrukh’s day though and whatever hopes he had of extending the match were dashed by Abbas, who will now be taking a shot at the title and a prize purse of nearly $4000 on Monday.

In the other semifinal, it was a one-way sided affair as Darwesh lived up to his top seeding sending Elborossy out in 36 minutes.

Darwesh, at No 13, the highest ranked player in the tournament, was just too good for the 24th ranked Elborossy and displayed an array of strokes to end his fellow-countryman’s tournament.

Darwesh, has had an easy route to the final, beating an unfit Majid Khan in his opening match and then knocking out Australian John Williams in the quarterfinals. His final however shouldn’t be easy as Abbas has been in threatening form.

Results (semifinals): Muhammad Abbas (Egy) bt Farrukh Zaman (Pak) 15-7, 17-14, 15-14; Karim Darwesh (Egy) bt Omar Elborossy (Egy) 15-7, 15-6, 15-10. Monday’s fixture (final): Karim Darwesh (Egy) v Muhammad Abbas.