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| August 25, 2005 | Thursday | Rajab 19, 1426 |
Aamir shocks top seed Malaysian Beng Hee
ISLAMABAD, Aug 24: Aamir Atlas Khan tipped as a future champion, underlined his potential with an opening day upset of Malaysian top seed Ong Beng Hee in the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) squash championship at the Mushaf Complex on Wednesday.
The young Aamir threw his arms up in jubilation after conquering his opponent in only 26 minutes scoring an impressive 11-10, 11- 5, 11-5 victory that put him into a quarterfinal with country- fellow Safeerullah Khan who toppled Egyptian M. Essam Hafiz 11-9, 11-8, 11-6.
Unfortunately, there were only a handful of spectators to cheer on Aamir who is a nephew of the legendary Jansher Khan. He showed what stuff he is made of by creating problems for Beng Hee forcing him to play upfront, which proved to be the Malaysian’s undoing.
It was a classic display by the boy who is just 14 but is packed with awesome power in his thin frame. Unleashing an array of scintillating strokes he quickly got on top.
Nothing seemed to go right for Beng Hee who struggled all through and hit the tin quite a few times losing crucial points. At first Aamir made him play at the back but changed tactics after a pep talk with coach Jamshed Gul.
“After the first game, I told him to make him play at the front court and this helped Aamir breeze to victory,” said Jamshed who has been a former Malaysian national coach and knows Beng Hee’s style of play just too well.
Safeerullah was also at his best and needed just about half an hour to show his rival the door in a tournament that carries a prize purse of $25,000.
Mansoor Zaman also swept into the quarterfinals with a knockout of Welshman Gavin Jones who was sent on his way 11-4, 11-10, 11-9 after being on court for only 24 minutes.
In the quarterfinals on Thursday, Mansoor will play against Majid Khan who upset Egypt’s Hisham M. Ashour 11-6, 11-8, 11-10.
The other home player winning Wednesday was Yasir Butt who scored a tough 11-9, 6-11, 11-10, 11-4 victory against Shamsul Islam and earned a seemingly difficult quarterfinal with Mohamed Abbas of Egypt, a 11-3, 11-7, 11-6 winner against Basit Ashfaq. 0 -
Former Pakistan Open champion Amjad Khan was a casualty and fell to Adrian Grant of England who edged past him 9-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-8 in just over half an hour, and set up a clash in the last eight with compatriot Jonathan Kemp.
Kemp was in a hurry as he threw another home player by the wayside - Arshad Iqbal Burki whom he defeated 11-7, 11-4, 11-6.
Results (main round): Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak) bt Ong Beng Hee (Mas) 11-10, 11-5, 11-5, Safeerullah Khan (Pak) bt M. Essam Hafiz (Egy) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6, Mansoor Zaman (Pak) bt Gavin Jones (Wal) 11-4, 11-10, 11-9, Majid Khan (Pak) bt Hisham M. Ashour 11-6, 11-8, 11-10, Yasir Butt (Pak) bt Shamsul Islam (Pak) 11-9, 6-11, 11-10, 11-4, Mohamed Abbas (Egy) bt Basit Ashfaq (Pak) 11-3, 11-7, 11-6, Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Arshad Iqbal Burki (Pak) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6, Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Amjad Khan (Pak) 9-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-8. Quarterfinal pairings: Aamir Atlas (Pak) v Safeerullah Khan (Pak), Mansoor Zaman (Pak) v Majid Khan (Pak), Yasir Butt (Pak) v Mohamed Abbas (Egy), Jonathan Kemp (Eng) v Adrian Grant (Eng).
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