LAHORE: Egypt’s Youssef Soliman stunned Ivan Yuen of Malaysia to win the final of the FMC International Men’s Squash Championship here on Friday.

The 21-year-old Youssef, ranked 48th in the world, spent 50 minutes on the court to overpower Yuen, ranked 40th, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8.

It is Youssef’s seventh international title as left-handed Yuen again failed to win a final despite qualifying for it for the fifth time. The latter has won the title just once so far.

Yuen looked in good touch and made a sound start winning the first game. But he saw Youssef stage a brilliant comeback, taking the second game quite easily dropping just six points and then took a 2-1 lead after claiming the third game.

Yuen managed to seize the fourth game to make it 2-2 but again Youssef remained in front throughout the decisive fifth game to win the tournament carrying cash prizes worth $20,000.

Later talking to media, Youssef said he was delighted over claiming the title while playing against a tough contender like Yuen.

Speaking on the occasion, Yuen said the final proved good fight and praised Youssef for his excellent performance.

Meanwhile, the second leg of the international squash championship both for men and women starts on Saturday. Players from Hong Kong, Iran, Malaysia, Ireland and Egypt are vying for this event carrying cash prizes of $20,000 and $5,000 for men and women, respectively.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2018