LAHORE, Jan 24: All top seeds except Waqas Mahboob in men’s and Riffat Khan in women’s categories marched into the semi-finals of the Bank of Punjab National Senior Squash Championship at the Punjab Squash Complex here on Thursday.

ZTBL’s Tayyab Aslam, who will be representing Pakistan in the upcoming Asian junior championship in Korea, ousted seasoned campaigner Waqas Mahboob, also of the same department, to register the first upset.

Tayyab showed no mercy as he won the match straight away 11-5, 11-4, 11-9, spending just 30 minutes on the court.

Likewise, top seed Aamir Atlas Khan, second seed Danish Atlas Khan and fourth seed Nasir Iqbal reached semis without facing much trouble.

Wapda’s Aamir eliminated challenge from 16th seed Bilal Zakir of Pakistan Army as he carved out win with score being 11-8, 11-8, 11-5.

Second seed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Danish, however, had to face some tense moments on the court before toppling eighth seed Punjab’s Aaqib Hanif after a four-set battle. But he completed the win with score being 11-4, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5.

Earlier, in the first quarter-final, fourth seed Nasir Iqbal of Wapda sent ninth seed Hamza Bukhari of PAF packing 11-2, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7 in another fine match of the day.

In the women’s category, 13th seed Wapda’s Muqaddas Ashraf executed a high-class game against fourth seed ZTBL’s Riffat Khan, who has been selected to represent the country in the Asian junior championship, to register victory.

Likewise, top seed Samar Anjum moved ahead with facile victory against Nimra Shahid 11-6, 11-3, 11-1. She will also be leading the girls’ team in the Asian junior championship.

In the other quarter-final, second seed Saima Shaukat thrashed Aliya Sarfraz 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 while third seed ZTBL’s Rushna Mahboob ended the winning run of Habiba Khan in all ZTBL match with score being 11-7, 11-7, 11-1.

Results:

Men’s:

Quarter-finals: Nasir Iqbal (Wapda) bt Hamza Bukhari (PAF) 11-2, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7; Aamir Atlas Khan (Wapda) bt Bilal Zakir (Army) 11-8, 11-8, 11-5; Danish Atlas Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Aaqib Hanif (Punjab) 11-4, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5; Tayyab Aslam (ZTBL) bt Waqas Mahboob (ZTBL)11-5, 11-4, 11-9.

Women’s:

Quarter-finals: Samar Anjum (Punjab) bt Nimra Shahid (Punjab) 11-6, 11-3, 11-1; Muqaddas Ashraf (Wapda) bt Riffat Khan (ZTBL) 11-5, 13-11, 11-5; Saima Shoukat (Wapda) bt Aliya Sarfraz (Wapda) 11-6, 11-4, 11-5; Rushna Mahboob (ZTBL) bt Habiba Khan (ZTBL) 11-7, 11-7, 11-1.—Sports Reporter