LAHORE, May 7: Eighth seed Shahnawaz (Punjab) caused a major upset when he toppled favourite Majid Khan to book a berth in the semifinal of the National Junior Squash Championship Under-19 at the Punjab Squash Complex courts Tuesday.
In a quarterfinal clash that lasted 96 minutes, Shahnawaz played superbly to outwit Majid 7-15, 15-12, 11-15, 17-16, 15-10.
Shahnawaz, the younger brother of international player Mohammad Ilyas, showed great grit, stamina and dedication as he used his fore and backhands masterly, especially his nick shots which was the match winner.
Majid, attempted to put up a brave challenge but his efforts were in vain as Shahnawaz outclassed him after the first game.
Shahnawaz lost the first game but went on an attacking spree and took a 7-1 lead in the second with two nick shots. Majid levelled the scores 10-all. Thereafter Shahnawaz hit four winners to reach game-ball. He clinched the game after conceding two more points.
Majid tried to make a comeback winning the third game but Shahnawaz held his ground taking the fourth and fifth games easily to oust Majid.
In another under-19 quarterfinals, 4th seed Naseem Tekhali (PAF) defeated unseeded Khalid Atlas 12-15, 15-12, 7-15, 15-12, 15-11.
Naseem who should have won the match easily, faced tough opposition from Khalid and lost the second and third games by big margins. However, he survived the scare winning the final game by a convincing margin of 15-11.
In the Under-17 section, the top seed Alamzeb earned a facile straight game win to make the last four. He defeated unseeded Basit Ashfaq (Punjab) with a score of 15-10, 15-12, 15-14.
The second seed Aaqib Hanif (Punjab) did not face much resistance before beating Maqib Ali Khan (NWFP) 15-7, 17-15, 17-16. Sixth seed Aurangzeb (PAF) mustered a 3-1 win against Haider Jamal 10-15, 15-9, 15-13, 15-10.
The fourth quarterfinals between Yasir Butt (Punjab) and Farhan Mahboob (PAF) has been shifted to the main court after the cooling system of Court No 2 went out of order. The match will be played after the two quarterfinals of the Under-19 section.
The under-19 quarterfinals between Waseem Shad (PAF) and Khayal Muhammad (Punjab) was still in progress. The last quarterfinals between Saeed Hasan (Punjab) and Safeer Khan (PAF) will be played later.
Results:
Under-13 (quarterfinals): Aamir Atlas (PAF) bt Zohaib Ahmad (Sindh) 15-4, 15-6, 15-4. Waqar Mahboob (PAF) bt Noor Ali (Punjab) 15-6, 15-6, 15-6. Adnan Khan bt Awais Rahim (Punjab) 15-7, 15-9, 15-3. Alam Zeb (PAF) bt Intikhab Alam (NWFP) 15-5, 15-3, 15-8.
Under-15 (quarterfinals): Adil Atlas (PAF) bt Muhammad Ali (Balochistan) 15-4, 15-3, 15-5. Zahir Shah (PAF) bt Waqar Ahmad (PAF) 15-9, 15-6, 15-10. Farzan Raseed (Punjab) bt Hamza Ahmad (Punjab) 15-3, 15-7, 15-6. Majeed Husain (PAF) bt Yasar Khan (PIA) 15-9, 15-6, 15-6.
Under-17 (quarterfinals): Alam Zeb (PAF) bt Basit Ashfaq (Punjab) 15-10, 15-12, 15-14. Aurangzeb (PAF) bt Haider Jamal (Punjab) 10-15, 15-9, 15-13, 15-10. Aaqib Hanif (Punjab) bt Maqib Ali Khan (NWFP) 15-7, 17-15, 17-16. Under-19 (quarterfinals). Shahnawaz (Punjab) bt Majid Khan (CAA) 7-15, 15-12, 11-15, 17-16, 15-10. Naseem Tehkali (PAF) bt Khalid Atlas (NWFP) 12-15, 15-12, 7-15, 15-12, 15-11.
GIRLS
Under-13 (quarterfinals): Marhaba (Punjab) bt Beenish (Punjab) 9-1, 9-0. Rabia Mahboob (Punjab) bt Hamna Bano (Punjab) 9-4, 9-2. Rooshana Mahboob (Punjab) bt Zoya (Punjab) 9-2, 9-3. Qandeel (Punjab) bt Sana Shahid (Punjab) 9-4, 9-2.
Under-15 (quarterfinals). Saddia Riaz (Sindh) bt Maliha Shahid (Punjab) 10-9, 9-5. Alia Sarfraz (Punjab) bt Madiha Iqbal (Punjab) 9-2, 10-8. Maira Yaqub (Punjab) bt Humara (Sindh) 9-0, 9-1. Gul Zaman Khan (Punjab) bt Amna Mahboob (Punjab) 9-2, 10-8.
Under-17 (playing on league system): Muqadas (Punjab) bt Kiran (Punjab) 9-1, 9-0. Shafaq (Punjab) bt Asma (Punjab) 9-0, 9-1.
Under-19 (playing on league system): Misba (Punjab) bt Shakila (Punjab) 9-1, 9-0. Saima (Punjab) bt Sadaf (Punjab) 9-1, 9-4. Sara (Punjab) walk over against # Razina (Sindh).