Egypt claim World Junior Squash title
KARACHI, Aug 8 In a fitting end to the Men's World Junior Team squash championship in Quito, Ecuador, top seeds Egypt beat title-holders Pakistan 2-1 to win the World Squash Federation crown for the third time since 1994.
New world individual champion Amr Khaled Khalifa put the favourites in a commanding position in the tie after beating Pakistan number one Danish Atlas Khan 11-3, 11-9, 11-3 in a victory which marked his tenth successive win in the two-week-long championships.
But second seeds Pakistan charged back into contention when Nasir Iqbal ended Ali Farag's unbeaten run in the team event by overcoming the individual championship runner-up 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 2-11, 11-8 in a 65-minute encounter to level the tie.
But it a tense hour before the eventual winners were decided — when 17-year-old Marwan El Shorbagy repeated his individual championship bronze medal win over Farhan Zaman to beat the Pakistani 11-5, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9.
It was a great conclusion to the championships for Egypt -- who not only claimed all the medals in the individual championship, but now hold all four main world team titles, the men's and women's senior and junior crowns.
Result (final)
Egypt bt Pakistan 2-1 (Amr Khaled Khalifa bt Danish Atlas Khan 11-3, 11-9, 11-3 (43m); Ali Farag lost to Nasir Iqbal 8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-2, 8-11 (65m); Marwan El Shorbagy bt Farhan Zaman 11-5, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9 (50m).—Agencies