Pakistan’s Noor Zaman launched a heroic comeback and Egypt’s Fayrouz Aboelkheir asserted her dominance as the duo made history by becoming the first ever winners of the U23 World Squash Championships – their victories guaranteeing them a PSA world championships spot for good measure
At the inaugural edition of the event, women’s top seed Aboelkheir made short work of 3/4 seed Sin Yuk Chan of Hong Kong, China, before Peshawar’s No.2 seed Zaman sent the capacity crowd at DHA Creek Club into raptures with a stunning reversal from 0-2 down to take out 3/4 seed Kareem El Torkey of Egypt.
Zaman went into the contest with the expectations of a nation upon him as Pakistan hosted its first world championship for 20 years.
It looked like the home crowd were in for heartbreak, though, with Zaman faltering after a promising start to slip to 0-2 down.
The end of game two in particular was a gut punch for Zaman, who had thought he had won the game only for his winning game ball to be overturned by a video review from El Torkey.
After seeing a commanding early lead in game three begin to crumble, Zaman held his nerve to gain a foothold in the match with an 11-8 win.
That win and the deafening home crowd gave the 21-year-old a shot in the arm and he quickly levelled the contest with a dominant 11-5 victory.
Zaman did not let up for a second in the decider. With almost the entirety of the DHA Creek Club – including Pakistan legends Jahangir Khan, Gogi Alauddin and grandfather Qamar Zaman – roaring him on, Zaman powered home 11-6 before dropping to the floor as the emotion of the win hit home.
Afterwards, Zaman said: “First of all, thanks to Allah. Kareem was so good today and when I was 0-2 down I just thought ‘don’t go for the win, just play your game.’ And now I’m world champion!
“It’s an amazing feeling, I’m feeling so good.”
Aboelkheir’s route to the title was a more serene affair.
Going into the match, the top seed was the clear favourite, with the World No.14 ranked 58 places above Chan in the World Rankings and coming out on top the last time the pair played, at the 2024 World Championships.
The 19-year-old, who has already won the Squash World Cup and World Junior Team Championships, got off to a rocky start, with World No.72 Chan earning game ball in the opener.
The Egyptian held her nerve to save it, though, edging into the lead 12-10.
Aboelkheir and Chan both went on the attack in game two, with Aboelkheir again the victor as she avoided the costly errors that were creeping into Chan’s game to double her advantage 11-9.
In her quarter-final win over Toby Tse and her semi-final win over Aira Azman, Aboelkheir had dropped game three after taking a 2-0 lead.
She was clearly in no mood for a repeat, though, and kept up the pressure as Chan wilted to wrap up the 3-0 win and become the first ever player to get their hands on the trophy.
“I’m very happy that finally I can say I’m a world champion,” Aboelkheir revealed afterwards. “That’s a huge, huge word! I’ve been fighting for a world title for the past three years, every time I’ve been getting closer to it. I’m just very happy.
“I’m aiming for more [titles at] world events I think. And definitely, I’m looking forward to the Olympics. I can’t wait: not just to go there, I want to participate and win a medal for Egypt. I really want to win it there.”
As well as the largest shares of the $60,000USD prize pot, the wins for Zaman and Aboelkheir see them qualify for this year’s PSA World Championships.
Result: U23 World Squash Championship Women’s Final
[1] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt [3/4] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) 12-10, 11-9, 11-6
Result: U23 World Squash Championship Men’s Final
[2] Noor Zaman (PAK) bt [3/4] Kareem El Torkey (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 12-14, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6