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| September 8, 2005 | Thursday | Sha’aban 3, 1426 |
Basit, Khayal qualify for main round
KARACHI, Sept 7: Pakistan’s Basit Ashfaq and Khayal Muhammad qualified for the main round of the Kolkata International squash championship by beating their rivals in the final qualifying rounds of the world ranking tournament on Tuesday night.
According to the results of the US$20,000 championship made available here, Basit Ashfaq pulled off a notable upset over England’s Lee Drew. The 19-year-old from Lahore upset Drew, ranked more than 30 places higher in the world, 7-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 11-1 in 49 minutes to claim a place in the first round alongside fellow Pakistani Khayal, who beat Christopher Gordon, of the USA 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 in straight sets.
India’s Ritwik Bhattachar-
ya wasted little time reserv-
ing his place in the main draw of the tournament after winning his qualifying finals match in the former Indian capital.
The 25-year-old from New Delhi dispatched compatriot Supreet Singh 11 7, 11-2, 11-3 in just 18 minutes.
The final qualifying place went to Cameron White who won an all-Australian clash with Tony James 9-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-6 after a thrilling competition.
Muhammad Azlan Iskander of Malaysia is the top seed in the tournament, which also features two more Pakistanis - Yasir Butt and Arshad Iqbal in the main rounds.
Qualifying finals results: Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) bt Supreet Singh (IND) 11-7, 11-2, 11-3 (18m); Basit Ashfaq (PAK) bt Lee Drew (ENG) 9-11, 11-5, 11-1 (49m); Cameron White (AUS) bt Tony James (AUS) 9-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-6 (40m); Khayal Muhammad Khan (PAK) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (50m)
1st round draw: Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) v Saurav Ghosal (IND) Gavin Jones (WAL) v Qualifier Mohamed Essam A Hafiz (EGY) v Qualifier Ben Garner (ENG) v Qualifier Alister Walker (ENG) v Yasir Butt (PAK) Shahier Razik (CAN) v Qualifier Phillip Barker (ENG) v Stacey Ross (ENG) Cameron Pilley (AUS) v Arshad Iqbal Burki (PAK).—PPI
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