26 February 2004	Thursday	05 Muharram 1425

ISLAMABAD, Feb 25: Adrian Grant of England edged Pakistan's Shahid Zaman in a hotly-contested five-game final of the $25,000 Chief of Army Staff (COAS) International squash championship at the Roshan Khan Complex on Wednesday to emerge the champion.

It would have been a fitting end to the championship though if Shahid, world ranked 43, had held aloft the trophy in front of his home crowd but Grant had better luck as he won 12-15, 15-12, 15-4, 12-15, 15-12.

The victory for Grant, who is No. 21, earned him $3971 while Shahid had to be content with $2717 purses that were presented to them by Vice Chief ofArmy Staff, Gen Muhammad Yusaf Khan who also gave away trophies.

Cheered on by a full house, Shahid started off confidently picking up the early points before Grant came back to pull level at 5-5. So nail-biting was the opening game that both players stood at par eight times during the course of play. After being locked 12-12 Shahid collected three quick points to go one up in the match.

Grant, who beat another Englishman Ben Garner in the first round followed by wins over Khayal Muhammad in the quarterfinals and Egyptian Wael El Hindi whom he beat in the semis, made several unforced errors in the second game.

It was a neck and neck affair all through but Grant kept his nerve to wrap it up and even the match. Shahid, conqueror of world No 8 Karim Darwish in the first round, was a disappointment in the third as Grant swept into the lead and soon he was serving for the game at 14-4.

The home boy then quickly made amends opening up an early 6-1 lead following which he stayed ahead. But Grant continued to make steady progress that soon saw him even the scores at 11-11 and then again at 12-12.

Although the Englishman tried desperately not to let the match go into the fifth game, Shahid had other ideas as he claimed three points on the trot to extend the tie. The deciding game was also keenly fought and fortunes swung throughout before Grant zoomed past his opponent after being on an even keel at 11-11.

Result (final):

Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Shahid Zaman (Pak) 12- 15, 15-12, 15-4, 12-15, 15-12.

Fairplay award: Saeed Hassan (Pak), Hisham M. Ashour (Egy)

Special prize: Majid Khan (Pak).

On Tuesday, Shahid pipped qualifier Majid Khan in a tense and hot-tempered semifinal.

Conqueror of Egyptian top seed Karim Darwish on the opening day Sunday, Shahid scored a difficult 15-8, 11-15, 15-11, 8-15, 15-12 victory over his rival.

His opponent in Wednesday's final will be Englishman Adrian Grant who defeated Wael El Hindi of Egypt in the first semifinal 15-8, 11-15, 15-6, 15-7.

Results (semifinals):

Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Wael El Hindi (Egy) 15-8, 11-15, 15-6, 15-7, Shahid Zaman (Pak) bt Majid Khan (Pak). 15-8, 11-15, 15-11, 8-15, 15-12. Final: Adrian Grant v Shahid Zaman.