KARACHI: Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal raced into the PN Fleet Club Open International Squash Championship final after a dominant win over Yassin Elshafei of Egypt, while compatriot Asim Khan suffered defeat against Egypt’s Salman Khalil at the Pakistan Navy Roshan KhanJahangir Khan Squash Complex on Monday.
The 32-year-old Nasir delivered a commanding performance, completely dominating his Egyptian opponent and securing victory in just 24 minutes with scores of 11-5, 11-7, 11-5.
‘He is a very good and experienced player but the way I planned my strategy for this match worked well,’ the veteran Nasir said after the match.
‘Even though I won in straight games, I didn’t take my opponent lightly. I stepped into the court with a positive mindset and thankfully was able to wrap it up quickly.
Looking ahead to the final, Nasir will face Salman and described him as a young, rising player who has been performing well lately.
‘Hopefully tomorrow will be a good game and I will give my 200 per cent,’ he said.
Earlier, Salman, ranked 55th in the rankings, defeated Asim 3-1, with the the 21-year-old securing victory with game scores of 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5.
Asim, who climbed one spot to 77th in the world rankings, ousted top seed Noor Zaman 3-1 on Sunday.
The final of the event, which carries a prize money of $41,000, will be played on Tuesday at 4:00pm.