Noor Zaman (Photo PSA)
Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal, Noor Zaman and Muhammad Ashab Irfan took centre stage on the opening day of the Karachi Open, scoring a trio of home wins to advance to the second round of the Gold-level event.
Wildcard Iqbal and Pakistan No.1 Zaman claimed respective five-game wins over Moustafa Elsirty and Melvil Scianimanico to delight the home crowds within DA Creek Club, while Ashab Irfan raced past Ryunosuke Tsukue in three games.
World No.134 Iqbal has enjoyed a wealth of success on home soil throughout his career, with 11 of his 18 PSA Tour titles coming in Pakistan – and the 31-year-old continued this strong record after battling back from two games down to defeat World No.45 Elsirty.
After setting up a tie with No.5 seed Mohamad Zakaria, Iqbal said: “It was a really great match today. It was so supportive playing in front of a home crowd. Events like this will be so good for the younger generation of players.
“In the first two games, I was a bit slow in the midcourt, and after going 2-0 down, I got told to push Moustafa to the back two corners because he’s so tall. When I pushed him back, it gave me some room and allowed me to play in short.”
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Zaman got the better of fellow up-and-coming star Scianimanico in a topsy-turvy five-game duel. Despite dropping two games in a mid-match slump, the World No.38 recovered to seal an 11-9, 10-12, 3-11, 11-6, 11-6 win.
In the women’s draw, England’s Torrie Malik claimed the standout win after battling back from two games down to advance past Egypt’s Menna Hamed.
Despite spurning game balls in both the opening games, World No.42 Malik rallied in impressive style, fighting back to defeat the World No.52 by a 13-15, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 scoreline.
Results
Men’s Round One: Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) bt Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-9 (25m); Iker Pajares (ESP) bt [WC] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-7 (27m); [WC] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) bt Moustafa Elsirty (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 (56m); Alex Lau (HKG) bt Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 (38m); Karim El Hammamy (EGY) bt Ivan Perez (ESP) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 (56m); Noor Zaman (PAK) bt Melvil Scianimanico (FRA) 3-2: 11-9, 10-12, 3-11, 11-6, 11-6 (49m); Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) bt Shahjahan Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 11-8 (47m); Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) bt Henry Leung (HKG) 3-1: 12-10, 11-3, 3-11, 11-4 (48m)
Women’s Round One: Haya Ali (EGY) bt Nour Heikal (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 (23m); Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) bt Ainaa Amani (MAS) 3-2: 7-11, 11-8, 11-2, 3-11, 11-6 (38m); Amina El Rihany (EGY) bt Marie Stephan (FRA) 3-0: 12-10, 11-7, 11-5 (25m); Mariam Metwally (EGY) bt [WC] Sana Bahadar (PAK) 3-0: 11-4, 11-1, 11-6 (15m); Sin Yuk Chan (HKG) bt [WC] Mariam Malik (PAK) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-0 (14m); Nardine Garas (EGY) bt Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (27m); Torrie Malik (ENG) bt Menna Hamed (EGY) 3-2: 13-15, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5; Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt Habiba Hani (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-7, 11-4 (25m)
