ISLAMABAD, July 26: Majid Khan of the Civil Aviation Authority, competing in the under-19 category needed only 18 minutes to brush aside qualifier Tariq Aziz of NWFP and advance to the quarterfinals of the 6th Hashim Khan National Junior Squash Championship Friday.
Majid put up a really good show and dropped only two points in achieving a 9-1, 9-0, 9-1 victory in the competition being held at the POF Complex Wah.
It was also a cakewalk for Punjab’s Khayal Muhammad who defeated Faisal Zaman, another qualifier, 9-3, 9-3, 9-0 in 20 minutes to make the last eight. But it was a different story altogether for PAF’s Khalid Atlas, who had to draw all his reserves in overcoming a stubborn Saeed Hassan of Punjab in five games.
In a marathon that lasted 74 minutes, Khalid dropped the first and the fourth games before winning 2-9, 9-6, 9-4, 2-9, 9-7 in what was clearly the best match of the under-19 category.
Also qualifying for the quarter-finals Friday was Shahnawaz, who too had to fight hard in overcoming the challenge of PAF’s Fahad Zaman 9-7, 9-5, 10-9.
In the under-17 age group, Farhan Mahboob swept past qualifier Bilal Zaman 9-3, 9-3, 9-0 in an all-PAF match in just 20 minutes with a fine display of shots to move into the quarters.
PAF’s Aurangzeb beat Shahroom Adil of NWFP 9-0, 9-4, 9-2 inside 20 minutes while Maqbal Khan knocked out Adnan Gul 9-2, 9- 5, 9-7. Sindh’s Zaki Muneeb was awarded a walkover against Haider Jamal Zaffar of Punjab who did not turn up.
The under-15 category also witnessed some interesting matches with Rehmanullah’s game against Sindh’s Yasir Khan being the toughest. Rehman of NWFP lost the first game before recovering to register a 6-9, 9-6, 9-4, 9-1 win in nearly half an hour.
Alamzeb Jnr also had to toil against Alam Khan for a 9-7, 9- 4, 9-4 victory that came in 25 minutes. Other winners in the same age group were Adil Atlas, Zahir Shah, Alamgir Rehman, Waqar Ahmed, Zohaib Ahmed and Farzan Rashid.
Sheikh Saqib of Punjab, playing in the under-13 category had to go the distance in his match against NWFP’s Ataullah whom he beat 1-9, 10-8, 9-7, 9-10, 9-2.
Danish Atlas, Muhammad Ali and Owais Rahim were also made to sweat by their respective rivals before each scored a win in four games. The quarter-finals in all the categories are to be played Saturday which will also see the girls coming on to the court for the first time in the history of the tournament that is an annual feature on the Pakistan Squash Federation’s calendar.
Results:
UNDER-19 (FIRST ROUND)
Khayal Muhammad (Punjab) bt Faisal Zaman (PAF) 9-3, 9-3, 9-0, Khalid Atlas (PAF) bt Saeed Hassan (Punjab) 2-9, 9-6, 9-4, 2-9, 9-7, Majid Khan (CAA) bt Tariq Aziz (NWFP) 9-1, 9-0, 9-1, Shahnawaz (Punjab) bt Fahad Zaman (PAF) 9-7, 9-5, 10-9.
UNDER-17 (FIRST ROUND)
Farhan Mahboob (PAF) bt Bilal Zaman (PAF) 9-1, 9-4, 9-1, Aurangzeb (PAF) bt Shahroom Adil (NWFP) 9-0, 9-4, 9-2, Maqbal Khan (NWFP) bt Adnan Gul (NWFP) 9-2, 9-5, 9-7, Zaki Muneeb (Sindh) walkover against Haider Jamal Zaffar (Punjab).
UNDER-15 (FIRST ROUND)
Adil Atlas (PAF) bt Naeem Khan (NWFP) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0, Zahir Shah (PAF) bt Hamza Ahmed (Punjab) 9-2, 9-1, 9-1, Alamzeb Jnr (PAF) bt Alam Khan (NWFP) 9-7, 9-4, 9-4, Alamgir Rehman (NWFP) bt Tahir Iqbal (NWFP) 9-4, 10-8, 9-6, Rehmanullah (NWFP) bt Yasir Khan (Sindh) 6-9, 9-6, 9-4, 9-1, Waqar Ahmed (PAF) bt Arshad Shafi (Punjab) 9-3, 3-0 (retd), Zohaib Ahmed (Sindh) bt Abdul Basit Samad (Punjab) 9-4, 9-0, 9-2, Farzan Rashid (Punjab) bt Muhammad Ali (Balochistan) 9-4, 9-2, 9-4.
UNDER-13 (FIRST ROUND)
Amir Atlas (PAF) bt Shoaib Hassan (Punjab) 9-0, 9-0, 9-1, Danish Atlas (PAF) bt Ibrahim Umar (Army) 9-6, 6-9, 9-7, 9-6, Intikhab Alam (PAF) bt Noor Ali Khan (Punjab) 9-4, 9-5, 9-0, Muhammad Ali (Punjab) bt Kashif Javed (Punjab) 9-4, 9-6, 4-9, 9- 4, Owais Rahim (Punjab) bt Amir Habib (NWFP) 9-0, 7-9, 9-4, 9-6, Waqar Mahboob (PAF) bt Adnan Sher (NWFP) 9-1, 3-0, 9-1, Sheikh Saqib (Punjab) bt Ataullah (NWFP) 1-9, 10-8, 9-7, 9-10, 9-2, Adnan Khan (Punjab) bt Asif Khan (NWFP) 9-7, 9-2, 9-0.