KARACHI: Pakistan’s Asim Khan secured a place in the semi-finals of the Pakistan Navy Fleet Club Open International Squash Championship by upsetting top seed and compatriot Noor Zaman, while veteran Nasir Iqbal also advanced after defeating Hamza Khan here at the Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan-Jahangir Khan Squash Complex on Sunday.
Asim, ranked 78th in the world, after losing the first game went on to win the next three before Noor retired from the match due to injury towards the end of the fourth game. The game scores were 9-11, 11-9, 11-1, 11-3.
“I am feeling great, it was a tough match,” Asim said. “My performances weren’t up to the mark for the past couple of years so it feels good to win against my team-mate and top-seed.”
Explaining his strategy after dropping the opening game, Asim said that he was focused more on reading his opponent’s strategy.
“Noor is a very skillful player and it’s very difficult to read his game,” he said. “So my focus in the first game was to read him and then execute my plan of keeping him in the corners. Thankfully the strategy worked.”
He added that maintaining focus was key against a player of Noor’s caliber.
Asim will face Salman Khalil in the first semi-final on Monday. Salman defeated compatriot Mohamed Naseer 3-0.
In the other quarter-final, the 32-year-old Nasir defeated Hamza 5-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11 in a thrilling contest.
“It is a major event for me so I am glad I am able to perform well uptill now,” the veteran said. “I won the first two games but Hamza is an extremely talented player as he made a remarkable comeback. It’s difficult to halt the momentum when someone makes a comeback but thankfully I was able to execute my plan in the decider and it worked.”
Nasir, however, made it clear that he is not satisfied yet.
“I am a step closer to the goal and will try my best to win the tournament.”
Nasir will be up against Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei — who downed Ali Tolba 3-2 in the other last-eight clash — and said he is ready for the experienced opponent.
“He is an experienced player, we can’t take the match up easily but I am ready.”
The final of the event, which carries a prize purse of $41,000, will be played on Tuesday.
Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2026