KARACHI: Second seed Nasir Iqbal set a date with eighth seed Waqar Mehboob for the title clash after ending the winning run of qualifier Saddam-ul-Haq in the inaugural Chief of the Naval Staff All Pakistan Squash Championship here at the PN Roshan Khan-Jahangir Khan Squash Complex on Friday.

Nasir brushed aside Saddam straight 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 in 34 minutes to justify his seeding.

Waqar, on the other hand, was stretched to limits before he overcame sixth seed Naveed Rehman in contrast to the other semi-final. He recovered from 1-2 down to post a 4-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9 victory over his opponent in an agonising 56-minute duel.

Top seed Zynab Khan lived up to her billing inflicting a straight defeat on fourth seed Komal Khan to advance into the final. She won the battle 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 convincingly in just 17 minutes.

She faces qualifier Noor-ul-Ain who rallied to whip unseeded Maryam Malik in a five-game clash 6-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8 in 40 minutes.

Curtain falls on the championship on Saturday afternoon, two days ahead of the original schedule.

Results (semi-finals):

Men’s: Waqar Mehboob bt Naveed Rehman 4-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9; Nasir Iqbal bt Saddam-ul-Haq 11-6, 11-9, 11-5

Women’s: Zynab Khan bt Komal Khan 11-5, 11-4, 11-7; Noor-ul-Ain bt Maryam Malik 6-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2022