ISLAMABAD: Pakistan defeated Kuwait and Sri Lanka in the opening-day pool matches of the 21st Asian Junior Squash Team Championship in Chennai, India on Wednesday.

Participating teams from 10 countries are divided into two pools. Pakistan are placed in pool ‘A’ along with Hong Kong, Korea, Sri Lanka, and Kuwait while hosts India, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, and Taipei form pool ‘B’.

The Pakistan team includes Noor Zaman, Hamza Khan, Ashab Irfan and Anas Ali Shah.

In their first match, Pakistan defeated Kuwait 3-0. Noor Zaman beat Abdul Rahman Al Hashim 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6 in 32min, Hamza Khan outplayed Abdul Rahman Al Maghrabi 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 in 15min while Ashab Irfan outclassed Abdullah Ali 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 in just 13min.

Pakistan in their second pool match blanked Sri Lanka 3-0 with Noor beating Thinura Randina 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 in 20min; Hamza overwhelming Seniya Jayathilata 11-1, 11-8, 11-6 in 15min; and Anas routing Sehat Perera 11-6, 11-4, 11-2 in 18min.

Pakistan in the pool stage now face Korea and Hong Kong on Thursday. The event concludes on Sunday.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2023