Pakistan knocked out of World Junior Squash Championship

CAIRO: Pakistan trio of Abdullah Nawaz, Anas Ali Shah and Muhammad Umair Arif has been knocked out of the World Junior Squash Championship men's team competition after succumbing to a 0-2 defeat against England here at the Black Ball on Wednesday.

In the opening duel of the knockout fixture, Anas represented Pakistan and suffered a straight-set 11-7, 11-6 and 11-5 defeat at the hands of England’s Dylan Roberts.

The second game produced an identical outcome as Alexander Broadbridge also registered a straight-set victory, thumping Abdullah Nawaz 14-12, 11-2 and 11-9.

The back-to-back defeats in the first two games meant England secured an unassailable 2-0 lead with a game to spare, which was scheduled to be played between Muhammad Umair Arif and Ismail Khalil.

Notably, Pakistan had entered the quarter-finals with momentum in their favour as they registered a resounding 2-0 victory over Poland.

In the opening duel of the match, Abdullah secured a 3-1 victory over Jan Samborski to give Pakistan an early lead, while Anas led them to glory by edging past Franciszek Michniewicz 3-2.

The defeat also marked the end of Pakistan’s overall journey in the World Junior Squash Championship, as all of the national players had already been knocked out of the individual competitions.

Abdullah was the standout performer for the country in the global tournament, qualifying for the quarter-final of teams and the Round of 16 in individual competitions.

In the individual competition, he suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat against Egypt’s Adam Hawal.