Canberra Open RD1: Wildcard Shoukat Causes Upset

The opening day of the Jansher Khan Canberra Open saw Pakistani wildcard Uzair Shoukat cause an upset, as he defeated England’s Simon Herbert in five to advance to the second round of the competition.

20-year-old Shoukat took on Herbert in the opening round of the Challenger 20 level competition at Woden Squash Centre, and took the first game 11-9. The pair then exchanged the next two games, before the Englishman stayed in the contest with an 11-9 win of his own in the fourth game. It went to a tie-break in the decider, and it was the Pakistani wildcard that came out on top, winning it 12-10 to book his spot in the second round, where he will now face No.5 seed Martin Svec.

There were a couple of other surprise results on the opening day as well. Welshman Owain Taylor downed New Zealand’s Temwa Chileshe in four games after losing the first. The Welshman will now face Temwa’s older brother Lwamba, the No.7 seed for the event, in the second round. Pakistan’s Amaad Fareed also caused an upset, defeating India’s Sandeep Ramachandran in straight games.

Elsewhere, there were two Australians to make it through on home soil, with both Joseph White and Rhys Dowling victorious. The latter overcame compatriot James Lloyd in straight games, while Australian No.1 White defeated Malaysia’s wee Ming Hock to move through.

The second round of the Jansher Khan Canberra Open will take place on Wednesday, October 19, and you can keep up to date with live scores from the tournament on our website here.

First Round Results: Jansher Khan Canberra Open
Valentin Rapp (GER) bt Nicholas Calvert (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (34m)
Owain Taylor (WAL) bt Temwa Chileshe (NZL) 3-1: 11-13, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 (64m)
[WC] Uzair Shoukat (PAK) bt Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-2: 11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 9-11, 12-10 (45m)
Joseph White (AUS) bt Wee Ming Hock (MAS) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-5 (32m)
Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt Zahir Shah (PAK) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-3 (14m)
Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt Bryan Lim Tze Kang (MAS) 3-0: 11-4, 12-10, 11-6 (35m)
Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt [WC] James Lloyd (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-4 (25m)
Amaad Fareed (PAK) bt Sandeep Ramachandran (IND) 3-0: 11-9, 16-14, 11-8 (59m)

Second Round Draw: To Be Played Wednesday, October 19
[1] Adrian Waller (ENG) v Valentin Rapp (GER)
Owain Taylor (WAL) v [7] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL)
[5] Martin Svec (CZE) v [WC] Uzair Shoukat (PAK)
Joseph White (AUS) v [4] Andrew Douglas (USA)
[3] Charlie Lee (ENG) v Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR)
Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) v [8] Tom Walsh (ENG)
[6] Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) v Rhys Dowling (AUS) 
Amaad Fareed (PAK) v [2] David Baillargeon (CAN)