DHA Islamabad Championship RD1: Wildcard Mehboob Causes Upset

The first round of the DHA Islamabad International Squash Championship took place at the JFC Squash Courts earlier today, with wildcard Farhan Mehboob causing the lone upset of the opening day’s play in the Pakistani city of Islamabad.

24 players are in the draw for this men’s Challenger 10 level tournament, with the top eight seeds receiving byes through to the second round of the competition.

The sole upsets of the opening day’s play in Islamabad came via wildcard Farhan Mehboob, playing on home soil, as he took out compatriot Farhan Zaman in a 28-minute straight games victory. The match included two tie-breaks, with Mehboob winning the third 14-12 to book his place in the second round of the competition, where he will face another Pakistani, in No.5 seed Israr Ahmed.

Elsewhere, the sole European in the draw, Frenchman Edwin Clain, got his campaign up and running with a four-game victory over Waqas Mehboob, coming from a game down to win 3-1. He will now face No.2 seed Syed Azlan Amjad, the Qatari No.2, in the last 16 on Sunday.

Top seed Asim Khan will face Iranian No.1 Alireza Shameli, after the latter defeated wildcard Khushal Riaz Khan in straight games, while it is guaranteed that there will be a Malaysian in the quarter finals, as No.4 seed Addeen Idrakie and Ong Sai Hung will meet in the second round.

The last 16 takes place at the JFC Squash Courts on Sunday, March 27, with the inners of those eight matches making their way into the quarter final of the Challenger 10 level competition.

First Round Results: DHA Islamabad International Squash Championship
Alireza Shameli (IRI) bt [WC] Khushal Riaz Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-9 (25m)
Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) bt Hamza Sharif (PAK) 3-1: 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8 (33m)
[WC] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt Farhan Zaman (PAK) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 14-12 (28m)
Seif Shenawy (EGY) bt Zahir Shah (PAK) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5 (28m)
Ong Sai Hung (MAS) bt Saeed Abdul (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 (30m)
Amaad Fareed (PAK) bt [WC] Muhammad Ammad (PAK) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 11-5 (15m)
Noor Zaman (PAK) bt Salman Saleem (PAK) 3-0: 11-6, 13-11, 11-9 (25m)
Edwin Clain (FRA) bt Waqas Mehboob (PAK) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (32m)

Second Round Draw: To Be Played Sunday, March 27
[1] Asim Khan (PAK) v Alireza Shameli (IRI)
Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) v [6] Khaled Labib (EGY)
[5] Israr Ahmed (PAK) v [WC] Farhan Mehboob (PAK)
Seif Shenawy (EGY) v [3] Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS)
[4] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) v Ong Sai Hung (MAS)
Amaad Fareed (PAK) v [7] Yassin Elshafei (EGY)
[8] Darren Rahul Pragasam (MAS) v Noor Zaman (PAK)
Edwin Clain (FRA) v [2] Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT)