Pakistan secure fifth position in World Junior Squash Championship 2025

KARACHI: Pakistan team, comprised of Abdullah Nawaz, Anas Ali Shah and Muhammad Umair Arif, registered a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Korea to finish fifth in the World Junior Squash Championship men’s competition at the Black Ball in Cairo on Friday.

Pakistan had an unwanted start to the final placement match as Abdullah succumbed to a 3-1 defeat against Joo Young Na.

Abdullah won the opening set 12-10 to make a promising start to his duel, but Young Na staged a sensational comeback and won three consecutive sets to give Korea a 1-0 lead by prevailing 12-10, 4-11, 3-11 and 3-11.

With a 1-0 deficit, Anas stepped up for Pakistan and beat Jeong Uk Ryu 11-6, 7-11, 11-3, 5-11 and 11-3 to neutralise Korea’s lead and force the match into the decider.

In the third and final tie of the match, Umair also received tough competition from Jonghyeok Lee as the duo played out a five-set thriller, with the former eventually emerging victorious 13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 9-11 and 11-8.

His hard-fought victory lifted Pakistan to secure fifth position in the World Junior Squash Championship 2025.

The national team started their fifth to eighth classification position campaign with a thumping 2-0 victory over Czech Republic, with Abdullah and Umair winning their respective matches convincingly.

Notably, Pakistan’s journey in the men’s team competition of the world championship culminated with a 0-2 defeat at the hands of England in the quarter-finals.

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.

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.

Despite the national players’ early exit from the tournament, the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) deemed their overall performances ‘encouraging’.