KARACHI: Unseeded Zahir Shah created quite a stir by getting the better of fifth seed Shaikh Saquib while qualifier Raees Khan crossed another hurdle to reach last eight in the ninth DG Rangers Sindh National Open Squash Championship at the Rangers Jahangir Khan squash complex on Monday.

Shah of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the losing semi-finalist of the last year’s event, coasted to 11-2, 11-7, 11-3 victory over his Punjab’s opponent.

Qualifier Khan overcome Asif Khalil 8-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 to sneak into last eight.

Meanwhile, other seeded men’s and women’s players were advanced to the last eight.

Defending champion Farhan Mehboob, who is fourth seed, disposed off Kashif Aziz 11-3, 13-11, 11-1 while last year’s losing finalist and third seed Tayyab Aslam overcome Bilal Zakir 11-6, 12-10, 11-2.

The top two seeds – Nasir Iqbal and Farhan Zaman – made short work of their opponents on way to making to the quarters. The former carved out 11-7, 11-2, 11-2 victory over Ali Bokhari while the latter sent Zeeshan Khan packing 11-3, 11-5, 11-7.

Similarly, top quartet Sadia Gul, Samar Anjum, Moqaddas Ashraf and Saima Shoukat also cruised into the women’s last eight.

Results:

Men’s second round:

Nasir Iqbal (Wapda) bt Ali Bokhari (Punjab), 11-7, 11-2, 11-2; M. Asim Khan (SNGPL) bt Safeer Khan (PAF) 11-6, 11-3, 11-9; Raees Khan (Army) bt Asif Khalil (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), 8-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-3; Tayyab Aslam (ZTBL) bt Bilal Zakir (Army) 11-6, 12-10, 11-2; Farhan Mehboob (Wapda) bt Kashif Asif (SNGPL)11-3, 13-11, 11-1; Zahir Shah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Shaikh Saquib (Punjab) 11-2, 11-7, 11-3; Waqar Mehboob (ZTBL) bt Abbas Shoukat (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 11-7, 11-13, 11-9, 11-8 ; Farhan Zaman (PAF) bt Zeeshan Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 11-3, 11-5, 11-7.

Women’s second round:

Sadia Gul (SNGPL) bt Madina Zafar (SNGP) 12-11, 7-11, 11-7, 12-10; Rushana Mehboob (ZTBL) bt Zahab Kamal Khan (Sindh) 11-2, 11-0, 11-6; Komal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Aiman Shahbaz (Punjab) 11-9, 11-9, 12-10; Moqaddas Ashraf (Wapda) bt Noou Ul Ain Ejaz (Punjab) 11-4, 11-6, 11-8; Saima Shoukat (Wapda) bt Noor Ul Huda (SNGPL) 11-4, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7; Faiza Zafar (Sindh), bt Anam Aziz (Sindh), 11-6, 11-3, 11-4; Raffat Khan (Wapda) bt Amna Fayyaz (Sindh) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7; Sammar Anjum (SNGPL) bt Maira Saleem (Sindh)11-4, 11-1, 11-2.

Tuesday’s fixtures:

Men’s quarter-finals:

Nasir Iqbal (Wapda) v M. Asim Khan (SNGPL) at 12noon; Raees Khan (Army) v Tayyab Aslam (ZTBL) at 12.45pm; Farhan Mehboob (Wapda) v Zahir Shah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) at 2.30pm; Waqar Mehboob (ZTBL) v Farhan Zaman (PAF) at 3.15pm.

Women’s quarter-finals:

Sadia Gul (SNGPL) v Rushana Mehboob (ZTBL) at 1.15pm; Komal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) v Moqaddas Ashraf (Wapda) 1.45pm; Saima Shoukat (Wapda) v Faiza Zafar (Sindh) at 4pm; Raffat Khan (Wapda) v Sammar Anjum (SNGPL) at 4.30pm.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2015