KARACHI, Oct 23: Pakistan pushed number three seeds England hard, but went down by two matches to one in the crucial tie of the 17th World Team Squash Championship, reports received from Melbourne said Tuesday.

Pakistan’s fast rising Shahid Zaman, ranked 42 in the world, beat Chris Walker 9-6, 9-3, 9-4 to bring Pakistan to level terms after his cousin Mansoor Zaman lost to Mark Chaloner in four games.

Walker, a runner-up in this year’s British Open, could not match Shahid Zaman in strokes. Chaloner won 7-9, 9-5, 9-1, 9-7 against Mansoor Zaman to give a good start to England.

It was left to Pakistan’s Aijaz Azmat and Lee Beachill of England to decide the tie. Beachill overcame a sluggish start to win in four games.

For Beachill, playing in his first world championships, the win was a big relief.

“Chris’s defeat had put us under a lot of pressure and I was very nervous,” he admitted.

“But it was good to pull off the win because it is important to try and finish top of the pool.”

Australia, led by world No.1 David Palmer and the strong favourites, swept to an easy 3-0 over Ireland, but Wales, the second seeds, dropped a game against Germany, winning 2-1

Pakistan will now meet Sweden for a place in the next round of 16 teams. Defending champion Egypt progressed to the next round with a comfortable 3-0 win over New Zealand.

Top seeds and host Australia was also through to the next round as they registered their second win, beating Ireland 3-0 and so was number two seed Wales who downed Germany 2-1.

Meanmwhile defending champions Egypt continued an easy march into the last 16 of the world team squash championships with a 3-0 win over former finalists New Zealand in the round robin stage here Tuesday.

Fifth seeds Scotland, surprisingly beaten by the Netherlands in the opening round, also came close to being upset by Malaysia.

John White, the world No.7, suffered his second loss of the championship going down 0-9, 10-9, 3-9, 8-10 to world No.10, Ong Beng Hee, but Neil Frankland saved Scotland with a battling win in the third string.

Last year’s British Open champion, David Evans, and Alex Gough had given the side a 2-0 lead before Gavin Jones lost to Florian Poessil.

Canada, led by world No.2 Jonathon Power, cruised through 3-0 against Denmark, while the unseeded Netherlands clinched a place in the last 16 by following their victory over Scotland with a 3-0 whitewash against Austria.

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