KARACHI: Pakistan’s young squash players Noor Zaman and Ashab Irfan reached the quarterfinals of the Nash Cup, a $31,250 PSA World Tour Copper event, being played in London, Ontario, Canada.
Zaman, seeded fifth, produced a strong performance in the round of 16, beating Argentina’s Jeremias Azana 3-1.
After taking the opening game 11-6, Zaman dropped a close second 12-14 before regaining control to edge the third 12-10 and close out the match 11-7 in the fourth. The encounter lasted 57 minutes.
Eighth seed Irfan had a tougher path, battling Malaysia’s Sanjay Jeeva in a five-game thriller.
Irfan started strong with an 11-5 win in the first game, but Jeeva responded by taking the second 11-5. Irfan regained momentum in the third with an 11-4 victory before Jeeva forced a decider by claiming the fourth 11-7.
In the deciding game, Irfan held his nerve to seal the contest 11-6 after 63 minutes on court.
Both Pakistani players now face challenging quarterfinal fixtures. Zaman is drawn against Colombia’s Ronald Palomino, who upset third seed Leandro Romiglio of Argentina in straight games.
Irfan will take on India’s Veer Chotrani, the No. 4 seed, who advanced with a 3-1 victory over Viktor Byrtus of the Czech Republic.
