Balochistan down Sindh, Punjab stun PAF: Hasan Musa Squash
KARACHI, Oct 21: Second seed Punjab stunned top seed Pakistan Air Force (PAF) while fourth seed Balochistan toppled third seed Sindh by an identical margin of 2-1 to earn full points in the Hasan Musa Squash Championship team event at the Hyderabad Gymkhana on Tuesday.
Punjab’s Ali Bokhari, who the other day clinched the boys’ U-15 individual title beating PAF’s Faraz Mohammad, proved that his victory was not a flash in a pan when he gave his team a winning start crushing the latter 9-0, 9-0, 9-2.
PAF’s Bilal Zakir neutralised the score by getting the better of Omer Balaj 9-3, 9-4, 9-1. However, Moin Rauf of Punjab sealed the fate registering a 9-5, 9-7, 4-9, 9-2 victory.
Displaying a lacklustre performance, hosts Sindh lost both their matches on the opening day to trail at the bottom in the four-team event which is played on league basis.
After getting a straight 3-0 drubbing at the hands of the PAF in the morning, Sindh went down 1-2 to Balochistan in the next fixture.
In another match, Punjab thrashed Balochistan 3-0.
Only two teams – Sindh and Punjab – are to vie for honours in the girls’ team event which begins on Wednesday. The championship concludes on Thursday.
Results:
PAF bt Sindh 3-0 (Faraz Mohammad bt Saad Shahid 9-3, 7-9, 9-2, 9-0; Bilal Zakir bt Faisal Khan 9-3, 9-0, 9-0; Fazal Mahmood bt Asbak Khan 9-3, 9-0, 9-1).
Punjab bt Balochistan 3-0 (Ali Bukhari bt Saifullah 9-3, 9-2, 9-4; Moin Rauf bt Mohammad Aijaz 9-1, 9-2, 9-1; Shah Jahan bt Jawed Ali 10-8, 9-6, 7-9, 8-10, 9-3).
Punjab bt PAF 2-1 (Ali Bukhari bt Faraz Mohammad 9-0, 9-0, 9-2; Omer Balaj lost to Bilal Zakir 3-9, 4-9, 1-9; Moin Rauf bt Rizwan Gul 9-5, 9-7, 4-9, 9-2).
Balochistan bt Sindh 2-1 (Saifullah loses to Saad Shahid 9-4, 6-9, 0-9, 2-9; Mohammad Aijaz bt Faisal Khan 9-4, 9-3, 9-0; Jawed Ali bt Asbak Khan 9-4, 4-9, 9-7, 9-2).
Wednesday’s fixtures:
At 11.00am (boys’ team event): PAF v Balochistan; Punjab v Sindh.
At 1.00pm (girls’ team event): Sindh v Punjab.