Pakistan beat Philippines to edge closer to Asian doubles squash knockouts

MALAYSIA: Pakistan’s squash pair Noor Zaman and Nasir Iqbal continued their impressive run at the Asian doubles squash championship, delivering another strong performance to defeat the Philippines and move a step closer to the quarterfinals here at Kuching on Monday.

The Pakistani duo outplayed their opponents from the Philippines with a convincing scoreline of 11-7 and 11-4. 

With this win, they have strengthened their position to qualify for the knockout stage of the marquee event.

Earlier in the day, Noor Zaman and Nasir Iqbal had made a winning start to their campaign by defeating South Korea in their opening match. They comfortably won that encounter with scores of 11-4 and 11-1.

Pakistan will play their final group match against Chinese Taipei on Tuesday, which will determine their position for the next stage of the tournament.

According to the tournament structure, the first two days will feature pool matches, after which the event will progress to the knockout rounds in the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles categories.

The top two teams from each pool will advance to the knockout stage, set to commence on June 25, with all three finals taking place the next day.

The Pakistani pair placed in Group B of the doubles championship alongside teams from the Philippines, Singapore and South Korea. The top two pairs from each group would advance to the knockout quarterfinals.

Fahim Gul has been serving as the team’s coach, while Amir Nawaz has been acting as the contingent’s manager.

For the unversed, Noor Zaman exited the Asian Individual Squash Championship following a narrow defeat in his pre-quarterfinal match.

Zaman, the reigning World Under-23 champion, was eliminated in a five-game thriller against Malaysia’s Joachim Chuah.

Struggling with a back spasm, Zaman lost the first two games 3-11, 3-11. He rallied impressively to win the third game 11-3 and edged the fourth 12-10, forcing a decider.

However, Chuah regained control in the final game, dominating 11-2 to seal the match and end Zaman’s run.