ISLAMABAD, March 30: A tenacious Adrian Grant overcame his closest rival – Ong Beng Hee 3-2 – to capture the Chief of The Army Staff (COAS) International Squash Championship title at the Mushaf Squash Complex on Friday.

Grant, an Englishman, fought back twice to beat Hee 4-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7 and 11-6, to receive the winner’s trophy from Lt. Gen. (r) Zarrar Azim, the President of the Punjab Squash Association.

The final turned out to be as close as the rankings of the two players-Jamaican-origin Englishman Grant ranked world no. 15 with Hee seeded world no.16. They were also the no.1 and no.2 seeds of the tournament respectively.

Grant trailed 1-2 after the third game but went on to win the last two games and lift the trophy at the expense of crowd-favourite Ong Beng Hee who failed to maintain the tempo at the crucial stages of the 71-minute final.

Hee seemed within reach of upsetting Grant when he reduced his opponent's lead to 6-7 in the last game. Grant, who was far better at front half of the court, denied Hee this opportunity by grabbing four consecutive points to win his second title in this tournament. —APP