ISLAMABAD - Abdullah Nawaz ousted top seed Mehmood Mehboob 3-1 in their quarterfinal of the U-13 event at the National Junior Squash Championship 2019 here at Mushaf Squash Complex on Sunday.
It was not expected a tough match, as top seed and experienced Mehmood had height advantage. However, there were doubts about his actual age, as it was hard to believe that he has still not turned 14, while Nawaz was looking like a kid.
In the first set, Mehmood completely dominated his opponent, who was looking puzzled and finding it hard to gain momentum. Mehmood was simply toying with the youngster and collecting points. Abdullah could not resist the pressure and lost the first game 6-11 in 10 minutes.
Mehmood continued with his heroics and built a comfortable lead in the second set. But Abduallah came from behind and took the second game 11-9 in 20 minutes after some tough battle. The third set was played on a high-tempo. Mehmood was sensing danger and trying his level best to put pressure on his opponent, but Abdullah made Mehmood nervous by pushing him to all sides of the court and managed to take the third game 11-9 in 15 minutes.
When the fourth game started, it was clearly evident that who is going to win, as Abdullah was looking fresh and determined to finish the match. It was no competition at all in the fourth set, as Abdullah played brilliantly and took the game 11-5 in 8 minutes to win the marathon encounter in 53 minutes. Although there was hardly any spectator present at the venue, yet the players, officials and few parents, who were watching the quarterfinal, gave standing ovation to Abdullah for his stunning performance.
In the other U-13 quarterfinals, Zuraiz Naeem stunned Varun Asif 3-0 in 18 minutes, 11-4, 12-10 and 11-9, Omar Arshad beat Abdullah Nadeem 3-2 in 26 minutes, 7-11, 11-6, 4-11, 12-10 and 11-9, and Sakhiullah Tareen outplayed Saim Asif 3-0 in 29 minutes with the scores of 11-1, 11-8 and 11-9.
In the U-15 matches, top seed Muhammad Ammad thrashed Muhammad Hanif 3-0 in just 17 minutes, 11-5, 11-4 and 11-3, Usman Nadeem beat Shoaib Afzal 3-1 in 25 minutes, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5 and 11-6, Mutahir Ali defeated Azlan Khawar 3-2 in 40 minutes, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 9-11 and 11-5, and Humam Ahmed stunned Ashar Butt 3-1 in 33 minutes with the scores of 8-11, 11-8, 11-3 and 11-7.