ISLAMABAD, April 2: In a final that went the distance, Mansoor Zaman had to draw in all his energies to overcome the challenge of Shahid Zaman to snatch gold in an all-Pakistan squash final of the 9th SAF Games.

As the scoreline of 3-9, 9-6, 0-9, 9-4, 10-9 suggests, the match was a real cracker as the two players fought tooth and nail for almost 80 minutes before Mansoor could complete victory at the Roshan Khan Complex.

So tight was the match that Mansoor fought back after being 3-8 to level the scores at 8-8 before Shahid came at par. However, from there onwards, Mansoor zoomed ahead to seal the match much to the relief of his father Qamar Zaman, who is also the Pakistan manager.

In the women's final featuring Indian players, Joshana Chinappa defeated Mikhala Subedar 9-4, 8-10, 9-5, 9-1 in another exciting match.

Joshana, who had won the Asian Junior championship at the same venue was always the favourite to clinch gold and she lived up to that pre-tournament billing.