Squash On Fire Open Wild Card Challenge: Walid and Asim Khan Secure World Tour Event Spot

Menna Walid and Muhammad Asim Khan booked their spots in the Bronze-level Squash On Fire Open, winning the Squash On Fire Open Wild Card Challenge in Washington DC. 

The pair could hardly have had more contrasting days, with Walid spending just 13 minutes on court, while Asim Khan played for close to two hours. 

That disparity was partly due to the fact that both the semi-finals and final of the men’s event were played in one day, while the women’s competition featured only the final, between Walid and Alina Bushma. 

Walid and Bushma were the top two seeds, with the Ukrainian at No.1 and Egypt’s Walid at No.2, but any hopes of a tightly contested affair were soon dispelled, as the 19-year-old No.2 seed raced into a two-game lead before Bushma retired. 

That final followed the two men’s semi-finals, which saw top seed Asim Khan beat Abdul Malik Khan 3-0, before No.3 seed Muhammad Ashab Irfan saw off Daniel Mekbib by the same scoreline, to set up an all-Pakistani final. 

If the women’s final had been somewhat of a disappointment, the men’s final was certainly not. 

Asim Khan and Ashab Irfan battled for 83 minutes in a match that swung one way and then the other, with the top seed twice taking a one-game lead, twice being pegged back by the 19-year-old. 

But it was the more experienced Asim Khan who eventually got over the line, winning game five 11-7 to book his spot in round one of the Squash On Fire Open, where he will play Lucas Serme. 

Walid, meanwhile, will be appearing in just her second World Tour event, and her first outside of Egypt, with an all-Egyptian matchup against Kenzy Ayman awaiting her. 

Result: Men’s Final 
[1] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) bt [3] Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) 3-2: 13-11, 6-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-7 (83m) 

Result: Women’s Final 
[2] Menna Walid (EGY) bt [1] Alina Bushma (UKR) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4 retired (13m)