All-Egypt final in Pakistan
By SEAN REUTHE
World No.25 Zahed Mohamed claimed his third PSA World Tour title after injury halted his fellow Egyptian Omar Abdel Meguid’s charge in the final of the Pakistan Navy CNS International Squash Championship, PSA M25 tournament in Islamabad.
Coming just a month after featuring in front of one of the world’s most iconic sporting locations – the Great Pyramid of Giza at the Al Ahram Open – Mohamed put in a series of fine performances to reach the final, beating Ahsan Ayaz, Tayyab Aslam and Todd Harrity en route.
Meguid, meanwhile, came into the tournament as the number one seed and won his last title in Pakistan – the COAS International Squash Championship – just three weeks earlier.
The World No.28 achieved wins against tournament wildcard Asim Khan, Egyptian qualifier Youssef Soliman and home hope Farhan Mehboob to set up a title decider with Mohamed, who had won the pair’s only prior meeting on the PSA World Tour.
The opening two games were tightly-contested affairs, with Mohamed taking them each by two-point margins, but a slip from Meguid saw the 28-year-old sustain an injury and he was forced to retire at 6-3 down in the third to ensure that Mohamed would walk away with his first PSA World Tour title since 2012.
PSA M25 Pakistan Navy CNS International 2016, Mushaf Squash Complex, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Final:
[2] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [1] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 12-10, 11-9, 6-3 ret. (36m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt [Q] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 5-11, 12-10, 14-12, 12-10 (57m)
[2] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [3] Todd Harrity (USA) 7-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-7 (44m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt [Q] Youssef Soliman (EGY) 4-11, 11-8, 11-0, 11-4 (29m)
[Q] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt [4] Farhan Zaman (PAK) 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7 (36m)
[3] Todd Harrity (USA) bt [7] Peter Creed (WAL) 12-10, 11-8, 11-4 (33m)
[2] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt Tayyab Aslam (PAK) 11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-9 (45m)
1st round:
[1] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt [WC] Asim Khan (PAK) 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 (43m)
[Q] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt [5] Rex Hedrick (AUS) 11-4, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8 (74m)
[Q] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt [8] Piedro Schweertman (NED) 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (23m)
[4] Farhan Zaman (PAK) bt Christopher Binnie (JAM) 14-12, 11-5, 13-11 (34m)
[3] Todd Harrity (USA) bt [Q] Abbas Shoukat (PAK) 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 (27m)
[7] Peter Creed (WAL) bt Shehab Essam (EGY) 12-10, 11-8, 10-12, 11-7 (62m)
Tayyab Aslam (PAK) bt [6] Mazen Gamal (EGY) 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 15-13 (68m)
[2] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [Q] Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 (48m)
Qualifying finals:
Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) bt Ahmad Al-Saraj (JOR) 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 (40m)
Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt Sadam Ul Haq (PAK) 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 (24m)
Abbas Shoukat (PAK) bt Zahir Shah (PAK) 11-9, 12-10, 11-9 (54m)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Israr Ahmed (PAK) 11-9, 3-11, 12-10, 11-6 (58m)
1st qualifying round:
Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) bt Evan Williams (NZL) 8-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (34m)
Ahmad Al-Saraj (JOR) bt Waqar Mehboob (PAK) 11-9, 7-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-7 (49m)
Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt Muhammad Farhan (PAK) 11-2, 11-5, 11-0 (14m)
Sadam Ul Haq (PAK) bt Shahjahan Khan (PAK) 11-8, 11-8, 10-12, 9-11, 18-16 (91m)
Abbas Shoukat (PAK) bt Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6 (33m)
Zahir Shah (PAK) bt Addeen Idrakie (MAS) w/o
Israr Ahmed (PAK) bt Mehran Javed (PAK) 11-5, 11-4, 12-10 (27m)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Amaad Fareed (PAK) 12-10, 11-5, 11-5 (41m)