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| January 07, 2007 | Sunday | Zilhaj 16, 1427 |
Nasir Iqbal wins British Open U-13 crown
SHEFFIELD (England), Jan 6: Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal claimed the first title for his country at the British Open Junior Squash Championships when he clinched the U-13 title, defeating Egypt’s Fadi Tharwat in the final here on Saturday.
The 11-year-old Nasir grabbed the title of the coveted event when he overcame Fadi in straight sets in a 41-minute battle.
The first set saw long rallies with Nasir winning most of them as he secured the first set 9-4. Nasir got tough resistance from Tharwat in the second set, but found himself lucky to win the set 10-9 in the end, due to a couple of errors from the Egyptian.
With a 2-0 advantage, Nasir didn't look back and took the third set comprehensively 9-5 to seal his first British Open title.
“It is the most memorable day of my life as I won the prestigious title for my country for which I am very happy. I received great support from Jansher Khan and I am thankful to him,” a jubilant Nasir said after winning the final.
In the meantime, Pakistan failed to earn the event’s U-15 title when Nousherwan fell against Egypt's top seed Amr Khalid Khalifa in straight sets in the 38-minute final.
Nousherwan, who was engaged in a hectic all-Pakistan semi-final on Friday against Danish Atlas which the former won 5-9, 10-8, 9-10, 9-5, 9-5 in 100 minutes, looked tired against Khalifa during his 3-9, 5-9, 2-9 loss.
In the girls’ events, Heba El Torky of Egypt won the U-17 crown when she outclassed compatriot Alia Balbaa 9-1, 9-6, 9-1 in 22 minutes.
Meanwhile, till the filing of this report, Pakistan’s Aamir Atlas Khan was yet to play his U-19 final against Omar Mosaad of Egypt.
Results:
Boys’ U-13 (final) Nasir Iqbal bt Fadi Tharwat (Egypt) 9-4, 10-9, 9-5 (41 min); Boys’ U-15 (final) Amr Khalid (Egypt) bt Nousherwan (Pakistan) 9-3, 9-5, 9-2 (38 min); Girls’ U-17 (final) Heba El Torky (Egypt) bt Alia Balbaa (Egypt) 9-1, 9-6, 9-1 (22 min). --Agencies
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