PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s Asian Games squash star Aamir Atlas Khan defeated holder Farhan Mehboob to win the National Games squash gold at the PAF Hashim Khan Squash Complex on Monday.
Representing Wapda at the Games, Aamir was taken the distance by his cousin Farhan, who is part of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa squad. The five-set final lasted 47 minutes as Farhan battled to complete a hat-trick of National Games squash golds after having won the titles in Quetta (2004) and Karachi (2007).
Silver and gold medallist at the Guangzhou Asian Games, Aamir was cruising towards a straight-sets win in the final with scores of 11-9 and 11-4 before Farhan launched a comeback.
The closely-contested third set saw the defending champion wrestle his way back with a 13-11 as he matched Aamir all the way at 5-5, 7-7, 9-9 and 10-10 before taking the lead at 11-13. The decisive set, however, was a one-sided affair as Aamir eased to a 11-3 win.
Earlier, Aamir beat Waqar Mahboob of Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa 11-8, 11-6 and 11-5 in the first semi-final while Farhan Mahboob beat Farhan Zaman Khan of Pakistan Air Force 11-13, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6 and 11-9.
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