Pakistan’s Hamza Khan put on a stellar performance for the home crowd as he won the boys’ under-19 category at the 31st Asian Junior Squash Championships Final in Islamabad on Saturday.
Last year’s world junior champion easily defeated Malaysia’s third seed Haris Daniel in three straight sets, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9.
Daniel’s admirable fight for the gold medal was trumped by Khan’s sportsmanship in embracing him in a congratulatory embrace immediately after his victory.
The talented Khan remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, defeating Hong Kong’s Lee Ting Hang in the qualifying round and then his compatriot Anas Ali Shah in the quarter-finals, beating both players in three consecutive sets.
He faced teammate M. Ahmad in the semifinals on Friday and won 11-6, 11-5, 11-0 to advance to the final against Daniel.
Three other Pakistanis were also gunning for the junior title in Saturday’s final.
Despite Abdullah Nawaz getting off to a solid start against Nikhileswar Moganasundaram, the Malaysian second seed finished the five-set match 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 6-11 to win the U-17 title.
The U-13 title was Pakistan’s with Sohail Adnan and Huzaifa Shahid reaching the final.
The fourth seed Adnan fought hard in the first two sets of the final but Shahid came back to win the third and fourth sets, eventually conceding the victory with the scorecards reading 12-10, 12-10, 5-11, 4-11, 11-8 in favour of Adnan.
The six-day tournament saw over 200 boys and girls from over 12 countries gather at the Mushaf Sports Complex to compete for international glory.
