ISLAMABAD - Farhan Mehboob made short work of top seed Farhan Zaman in the semi-finals of the $10,000 Pakistan Squash Circuit 2018 as Mehboob registered another upset victory here at Mushaf Squash Complex on Saturday.
Israr Ahmed defeated Ammad Farid in second semi-final.
In the $5000 ladies event, it will be all sisters final as both Madina and Faiza hammered their opponents in the semi-finals to prove they are presently best in the country and deserve to represent Pakistan in international events.
In the first semi-final, it was Mehboob, who is out of squash for several months, once again proved that he is by far the best in the country. Mehboob started the first game on a slow pace and took time before settling down. But soon he started to take control of things and won first game 11-8 in 9 minutes. Second game was also played on a high tempo. Mehboob simply kept Zaman on the run to all corners of the court and took second game 11-9 in 9 minutes.
Zaman started the third game on a positive note and could have easily won the game but he made some childish mistakes, which cost him dearly in the end. It could have gone easily to Zaman’s way, but he could not finish it off and Mehboob took the third game 13-11 in 12 minutes to move into yet another final. It would be almost mission impossible for young Israr to stop Mehboob for adding yet another title to his already highly decorated cap.
In the second semi-final, some dubious referee decisions went against Ammad, as he was serving for the match in the 4th game 10-7 but highly close calls not only denied him the game, but also the match was snatched from his grasp.
It was high voltage first game as both Ammad and Israr played top class squash and it was Amamd, who took the first game 11-8 in 12 minutes. But Israr bounced back to take second game 11-5 in 10 minutes. Ammad won third game 11-4 in 9 minutes and was leading 10-7 in the 4th game and looked all set to seal a place in the final. But some highly questionable referring decisions not only helped Israr level the score but also ensure, Israr won the game 13-11 in 13 minutes. In decider, Israr was leading 10-7 before Ammad saved two match points but a no-let call ended his journey. He was so upset that he threw his arm guard and had also received conduct warning as Israr won the 5th and final game 11-9 in 17 minutes to win the grueling encounter in 61 minutes.
In female semi-finals, both Zafar sisters ensured the trophy will stay at home, after beating their respective opponents in the semi-finals. In the first semi-final, elder sister Madina Zafar was up against the former number 1 Zoya Khalid. Zoya fought gallantly in the first game before Madina won the 11-9 in 8 minutes. It was yet another close second game but Madina won the game 11-7 in 5 minutes and third game 11-7 as well in 6 minutes to register a highly morale-boosting victory.
In the second semi-final, Faiza Zafar was up against Amna Fayyaz. Faiza was nowhere in the first game and lost the game 5-11 in 6 minutes but she bounced back in style to take next three games 11-8, 11-9 and 11-5 to reach the final.