February 7, 2003	Friday	Zul Hijjah 5,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 6: Top seeds Pakistan cruised into the quarterfinals of the Nokia 11th Asian Junior Squash Championship walloping Hong Kong and Kuwait Thursday as the team events got under way at the Roshan Khan Complex.

Khalid Atlas, Farhan Mahboob and Shah Nawaz featured in the 3-0 blanking of Hong Kong in the team’s opening match of the day played in the morning.

Khalid and Shah Nawaz then returned to court in the evening and starred along with Yasir Butt in the 3-0 hammering of Kuwait.

India also qualified for the quarterfinals as they started their tournament run with a 3-0 whitewash of Singapore and Sri Lanka. Their players Siddharth Schude, Saurav Ghosal and Supreet Singh all won in straight games. Also the victors were Malaysia who swept past Sri Lanka in their first match and then defeated Singapore in the evening to make the quarterfinals.

Pakistan were given a grand prix start by Khalid Atlas in the Hong Kong match as he quickly outplayed Vincent Yu Hok Yan 9-4, 9-2, 9-2 Then it was Farhan, winner of Thursday’s individual crown, who came in next to crush Anson K. Wong 9-0, 9-5, 9-4 while Shah Nawaz completed the demolition with a 9-4, 9-2, 9-6 win over Patrick Choi.

In the match against Kuwait, Khalid beat Nasir Ramezi 9-2, 9- 5, 9-0 easily to keep Pakistan on course but Yasir Butt, the runner-up of the individual event, found a tough rival in Abdullah Mezayin. The Kuwaiti boy gave him a hard time, especially in the first and third games before losing 8-10, 4-9, 7-9 in over 35 minutes.

Shah Nawaz was on court for an identical period, his match against Salem Fayez Mohammed being no less easier. He too had to put in quite an effort in scoring a 9-4, 9-6, 9-6 victory that completed what was a fine day for the hosts.

The Pakistani girls, having a taste of international squash for the first time were beaten, first by Hong Kong 0-3 and then fell to Malaysia by the same scoreline.

Sarah Awan, Muqaddas Ashraf and Alia Sarfraz competed in the match against Hong Kong, all of them losing in straight games. The Malaysia game that had Maria Toor as the third player also yielded the same result.

India meanwhile checked into the quarters thrashing Sri Lanka 3-0 in the morning and routing Singapore by a similar margin in the evening.

On Friday the quarterfinals and the semifinals will be contested with the finals set for Sunday.

Results (Boys): Pakistan bt Hong Kong 3-0 (Khalid Atlas bt Vincent Yu Hok Yan 9-4, 9-2, 9-2, Farhan Mahboob bt Anson K. Wong 9-0, 9-5, 9-4, Shah Nawaz bt Patrick Choi 9-4, 9-2, 9-6); Pakistan bt Kuwait 3-0 (Khalid Atlas bt Nasir Ramezi 9-2, 9-5, 9- 0, Yasir Butt bt Abdullah Mezayin 10-8, 9-4, 9-7, Shah Nawaz bt Salem Fayez Mohammed 9-4, 9-6, 9-6); India bt Singapore 3-0 (Siddharth Schude bt Vivian Rahmanan 9-1, 9-4, 9-2, Saurav Ghosal bt Richard Hill 9-3, 9-0, 9-0, Supreet Singh bt Kenneth Chan 10- 8, 9-3, 9-4); India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Siddharth Schude bt Harin Perera 9-0, 9-0, 9-2, Saurave Ghosal bt Kavin Tayawaride 9-3, 9- 6, 9-1, Supreet Singh bt Manojith Weersaruya 9-2, 9-0, 9-2); Malaysia bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Mohd Nafzahizam bt Harin Perrera 9-4, 9-1, 9-6, Mohd Shahril bt Majeeth Weerasurya 9-2, 9-3, 9-2, Fabian Faurillo bt Shezan Zahir 9-0, 9-3, 9-0); Malaysia bt Singapore 3-0 (Vivian Rahmanan bt Timothy Arnold 9-4, 6-9, 9-6, 9-3, Mohd Shahril bt Ang Shirong Sean 9-3, 9-2, 9-0, Fabian Faurillo bt Richard Hill 9-2, 9-3, 9-4).

Girls: India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Joshna Chinnapa bt Tehani Guruge 9-5, 9-6, 9-0, Vaidehi Reddy bt Nirasha Guruge 9-4, 9-3, 9-4, Alisha Mashruwala bt Vidushi Gurunda 9-1, 9-2, 9-1); India bt Singapore 3-0 (Joshna Chinappa bt Tan Pie Qi 9-2, 9-3, 9-2, Vaidehi Reddy bt Goh Mui Yen 9-3, 9-0, 9-3, Alisha Mashruwala bt Koh Kar Yan 9-5, 9-1, 9-6); Hong Kong bt Pakistan 3-0 (Chan Ho Ling bt Sarah Awan 9-3, 9-1, 10-8, Natalie So bt Muqaddas Ashraf 9-0, 9-1, 9-1, Au Wing Chi bt Alia Sarfraz 9-1, 9-0, 9-0); Malaysia bt Pakistan 3-0 (Lim Yok Wah b Sarah Awan 9-3, 9-3, 9-3, Sally Looi bt Muqaddas Ashraf 9-1, 9-2, 9-2, Delia Arnold bt Maria Toor 9-1, 9-2, 9-2).