Key points
- Zaman and Iqbal fall 2-1 to India in final
- Pakistani duo beat Malaysia in thrilling semi-final match
- Strong group stage performance with wins over Philippines, Taipei
- Noor Zaman exits individual event after hard-fought five-setter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan secured a silver medal at the Asian Doubles Squash Championship following a spirited performance in the men’s doubles final, narrowly losing 2-1 to traditional rivals India on Thursday in Malaysia.
The Pakistani pair, Noor Zaman and Nasir Iqbal, put up a commendable fight but were eventually overcome by India’s Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar, who successfully defended their Asian title with a 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 victory. The gripping final lasted one hour and 27 minutes.
Zaman and Iqbal impressed throughout the tournament with a strong run to the final. In Wednesday’s semi-final, they edged past hosts Malaysia in a nail-biting three-game encounter, triumphing 10-11, 11-9, 11-9 in a match that lasted one hour and eight minutes. The Pakistani duo overcame the experienced Malaysian team of Syafiq Kamal and Duncan Lee to seal their place in the final.
Successful group stage
In the quarter-finals, Pakistan claimed a 2-1 victory over South Korea. The Zaman-Iqbal duo defeated Jiang Min Ryu and Jaijin Yoo in yet another exciting clash, posting scores of 11-3, 5-11, 11-4.
Pakistan also enjoyed a successful group stage, comfortably qualifying for the knockouts with a straight-sets win over Chinese Taipei. Nasir and Noor dispatched Chi Yu-Wei and Chen Ching-Fu 11-2, 11-9 in just 11 minutes.
Seeded second in the competition, Pakistan began their campaign on Monday with dominant wins over the Philippines (11-7, 11-4) and South Korea, showing consistent form throughout the tournament.
On an individual level, Noor Zaman also featured in the recent Asian Individual Squash Championship, where he exited in the pre-quarterfinals after a gruelling five-game match against Malaysia’s Joachim Chuah.
Despite struggling with a back spasm, Zaman fought back from two games down (3-11, 3-11) to level the match (11-3, 12-10), but eventually lost 2-11 in the final game.
