LAHORE: Top seed Nasir Iqbal was declared champion of the International Squash Championship when his rival and second seed Aamir Atlas Khan conceded the final in the third game on fitness grounds at the Punjab Squash Complex here on Monday.

Nasir besides receiving the trophy pocketed a cash prize of $2100 while Aamir got a cash purse of $1600.

Playing like a true champion, Nasir forged ahead 11-8, 11-4 when Aamir, citing stomach problem, decided to concede the final.

“I have been suffering from this stomach trouble for the last few days. Therefore, I decided to opt out [of the final], to prevent this ailment from aggravating,” said Aamir after the final.

Nasir, who made the final after beating third seed Farhan Zaman in the semi-final 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 on Sunday felt a bit disappointed, saying the decider could not last till its true end.

Commenting on Aamir’s show in the final, Nasir said that his opponent looked in trouble not allowing him to produce his best and that he might have taken the right decision to concede the final.

Giving his view on the precarious security situation in Pakistan affecting international squash in the country, Nasir said no foreign player featured in this International Squash Championship mainly due to their security concerns. However the scenario, he added, helped the Pakistan players improve their international ranking by gaining some points.

“Hopefully, soon Pakistan would be able to attract foreign [squash] players to participate in competitions,” Nasir said.

Earlier in the semi-final on Sunday, Aamir won after struggling to overcome the challenge posed by Farhan Mehboob. Aamir won 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2015

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