Noor Zaman makes triumphant start to World Squash Championship

GIZA: Pakistan's rising star Noor Zaman made a triumphant start to the World Squash Championship 2026 by securing a hard-earned 3-2 victory over Egypt's Adam Hawal in the first round here on Friday.

Zaman made a spirited start to the fixture as he clinched the opening game narrowly by 11-9, but Hawal hit back, winning the subsequent game 11-5 to neutralise the lead.

The fixture followed the same pattern in the next two games, with Zaman pulling ahead and Hawal levelling to force the decider.

Zaman brought his best performance in the decider as he outclassed Hawal 11-8 to round up a comprehensive 11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 victory, which took him 55 minutes.

The victory propelled Zaman into the second round of the World Squash Championship, where he will lock horns with another Egyptian, Mohamad Zakaria.

Zaman's first-round victory extended his rise in the sport as he secured his career-best 28th position in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world rankings following his quarter-final finish at the Optasia Squash Championship in March this year.

The 22-year-old jumped three places, pushing down England's Declan James, Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller and Colombia's Juan Vargas to secure a career-best 28th position in the world rankings.

Meanwhile, another Pakistani, Mohammad Asim Khan, suffered a gruelling 3-0 defeat at the hands of fifth seed Joel Makin, which drew curtains on his campaign.

Whereas the third Pakistani participating in the global tournament, Ashab Irfan, is set to play his first-round fixture on Saturday against Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller.