ISLAMABAD - Farhan Zaman crashed out of the $115,000 Tournament of Champions as he lost his first qualifying round match against Alan Clyne of Scotland 3-0 in 33 minutes.
Talking to The Nation from New York on Thursday, Farhan said: “The reoccurrence of knee and back problems hampered my movement soon after the first game. I matched Alan point-to-point and remained at his tail right from the word it go, but by doing so, I had to stretch to the limit, which resulted in knee pain and the long-hunting back pain, which restricted my movement badly and forced me to continue the match without moving much.”
“The first game started at high tempo as I played well against the World No 25 player and we both fought for each point and the game was neck-to-neck till 9-9. At that stage, I started feeling pain in my knee and also slight pain in my back, but I shrugged off pain barrier and continued to fight for the control of the game, Alan finally managed to take the first game 12-10,” he added. “After finishing the very tight first game, the pain was almost unbearable, but I decided to continue the match. Alan soon realised that I am not moving freely so he started taking cruise control of the second game and raced on to win it 11-5.
The third game was not more than a routine affair, as I was left with no other option but to stand at one place just and return the ball. Alan took three to four minutes to take the game 11-2, thus won the match in just 33 minutes,” he asserted.
“The loss of was very disappointing for me, especially keeping in mind it was the very first high-profile event of my short career, but it is the part of the game. Although the defeat was more to do with the health issues then a routine defeat, anyhow I will work more hard on my fitness level and try to bounce back in the next event,” Farhan concluded.