-Photo by AFP

KARACHI: Pakistan’s hopes in the high-profile PSA World Series ROWE British Grand Prix tournament were put to rest in the very first round as Pakistan No 1 Aamir Atlas Khan lost his match to Australian Cameron Pilley in the event underway at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

The ROWE British Grand Prix, Manchester 2011, the fourth of nine PSA World Series championships in 2011 has attracted a star-studded field featuring 16 of the world’s top 20 players, including six former world number ones.

Ranked 11 places higher than his Peshawar-based opponent in the first round, Cameron Pilley took only 31 minutes to dispatch world 28 Aamir, registering a formidable 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 triumph.

The world No17 from New South Wales was delighted to overpower Aamir especially considering the fact that Aamir defeated him in Malaysia recently.

“Aamir beat me the last time we played and I was so keen to play him again. In Malaysia, he had a lot of Pakistani support and that helped him. But I knew he would be on his own here,” Cameron Pilley said after the match.—PPI