Asian Team Squash Championship: Pakistan beat India to qualify for semi-final

KARACHI: Pakistan beat India 2-1 to qualify for the semi-final of the Asian Team Squash Championship in Dalian, China, on Friday. 

Asim Khan gave Pakistan the lead in the contest with a convincing 3-0 victory against India's Rahul Baitha. 

However, India's Velavan Senthilkumar brought his side back in the game with a 3-0 win against Nasir Iqbal. But Pakistan's coach Fahim Gul confirmed after the match that Iqbal was suffering from fever which is why he couldn't perform well in his match.

With the match level at 1-1, Pakistan's Noor Zaman stepped up for his side and delivered a flawless performance to beat Suraj Kumar Chand 3-0 and help his side move on to the next round.  

Pakistan will face Hong Kong, who defeated Iran, in the semi-final tomorrow. 

Pakistan coach Gul was elated after the win against India and hoped that the team will do well in the upcoming matches as well. 

Earlier, Pakistan remained unbeaten in Pool C of the event where they were alongside South Korea, Chinese Taipei and China.

Pakistan beat Taipei 3-0 and Korea 2-1 on the opening day to make a good start to the tournament. Meanwhile, they beat China yesterday 3-0 to top their pool. 

Pakistan are the most successful team in the Asian Men’s Team Squash Championship’s history with 15 gold medals. However, their last win in the event came in 2016.

India are the defending men’s champions after winning the title in 2022 in South Korea.