ISLAMABAD: Mostafa Asal of Egypt, the current world junior champion, caused a major upset in the the Chief of Air Staff-Serena Hotels International Squash Championship when he eliminated top seed Gerg Lobban in the semi-final here at the Mushaf Squash Complex on Thursday.

Holding 41st ranking in the senior circuit, the 17-year-old Asal stunned top seed Lobban (No.29) of Scotland with speed and accuracy. The Egyptian teenager comfortably overpowered his 26-year-old rival 11-5, 5-11, 11-3, 11-8 in 46 minutes.

In the final, Asal faces compatriot Youssef Soliman who defeated countryman Karim Ali Fathi 11-5, 13-11, 6-11, 11-6 in a 66-minute semi-final.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Farida Mohamed and Cindy Merlo of Switzerland qualified for the final of the Serena Hotels-Condor Pakistan International Squash Tournament.

In a thrilling semi-final, Farida beat compatriot Sana Ibrahim in 53 minutes. Both the players exhibited brilliant performance till the very last moment of the match. In a close fight, Farida, the world number 73, survived a scare at the hands of her junior opponent, who is ranked 240. Farida eventually won the clash 10-12, 11-3, 11-9, 17-19 and 11-9 (3-2).

The 89th-ranked Cindy overwhelmed South Korea’s Jihyun Lee (No. 270) 11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 12-10 in the other last-four clash in 36 minutes.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2019