Challenger Tour Round-Up: Zakaria to Play Wildcard Iqbal for Karachi Title, Yadav’s Dream Week Rolls On

16th CNS International Squash 2024 

Mohamad Zakaria will play wildcard Nasir Iqbal for the 16th CNS International Squash title, after both players won their respective semi-finals 3-0. 

16-year-old Zakaria had needed all five games to get past Noor Zaman on quarter-finals day, but only required three to beat second seed Tayyab Aslam in the last four. 

The 3-0 scoreline is perhaps a harsh reflection on the Pakistani player, who took Zakaria to a tiebreak in games one and two, before the young Egyptian ran away with things in the third. 

Aslam’s defeat leaves home hopes resting on the shoulders of a somewhat unlikely source, in World No.426 Iqbal. 

Iqbal’s current world ranking is more reflective of his lack of recent activity than his level of play, having competed in only two PSA Tour events since 2022, and none before this one in the current calendar year. 

His career-high ranking of No.35 – achieved in 2016 when Zakaria was only eight years old – is perhaps a more accurate guide to what sort of test the Egyptian may face in the final, as is the accomplished display Iqbal put in to win his semi-final. 

Facing the No.1 seed and current Pakistani No.1 Muhammad Asim Khan, Iqbal took the first game 11-6 before winning the next two 11-8, 11-9, booking his spot in Sunday’s trophy showdown. 

Bendigo Bank NT Open 2024 

Rhys Dowling is one win away from securing his second straight Challenger Tour crown on home soil, beating Mutahir Ali Shah to reach the Bendigo Bank NT Open final. 

Unseeded Ali Shah had already knocked out two seeds in the form of Wilson Chan and Yuta Ando, but top seed Dowling would be a step too far, with the Queenslander easing to an 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 victory. 

His opponent in the final will be Japan’s Naoki Hayashi, who beat England’s Matt Gregory 3-0 in the second semi-final. 

The Poona Club LTD Open Squash Tournament 2024 

American teenager Diya Yadav kept her dream debut going at The Poona Club LTD Open Squash Tournament, upsetting No.2 seed Sunita Patel 3-0 to reach the final in what is her first ever PSA Tour event. 

The 16-year-old, who was born in California but lives in Bengaluru, is ranked 219 places below Patel in the world, but defied those rankings to run out a 3-0 winner, setting up a final with top seed Urwashi Joshi. 

Joshi was made to work hard for her victory over Anjali Semwal, winning 3-1 in a match that saw all four games decided by three points or fewer. 

In the men’s draw, Ravindu Laksiri and Suraj Kumar Chand will go head-to-head for a title for the second time in the last three weeks. 

The top two seeds met in the Hamdard Squashters Northern Slam final at the end of April, when Chand fought back from 2-1 down to deny Laksiri the title. 

The Sri Lankan will get his shot at revenge in Pune, though, after both players won their semi-finals 3-0.

You can stay up to date with all the Challenger Tour results here.