Bangamata Squash Tournament RD2: Laksiri and Khan Cause Upsets

The second round of the Bangamata Squash Tournament – Presented by SA Group saw a couple of shocks, as Sri Lanka’s Ravindu Laksiri and Pakistan’s Hamza Khan both took out higher seeds to advance to the quarter finals.

The Challenger 5 level tournament, which is taking place at the Chittagong Club, saw the unseeded Ravindu Laksiri, the Sri Lankan No.1, overcome No.8 seed Muhammad Ashab Irfan in a five-game battle.

The Sri Lankan, who is currently outside of the top 500 in the World Rankings, fell behind twice in the match, after both the first and third games, but was able to bounce back , before a monster deciding game. The pair did battle for 30 points in the fifth, with Laksiri eventually winning out 16-14 after 79 minutes. He will now face No.2 seed Abhishek Agarwal in the last eight of the competition.

The other surprise result of the second day of the tournament saw No.9 seed Hamza Khan defeat No.6 seed Sandeep Ramachandran, also in five games. Like Laksiri, the Pakistani fell behind twice, but was able to recover, to win the last two games, both by an 11-6 score-line, to advance through to the quarter finals.

Elsewhere, top seed Yassin Elshafei got his campaign underway with a confident three-game victory over India’s No.15 seed Jaideep Singh Sethi, while Iran’s Alireza Shameli, who has won his last two tournaments on Tour, defeated India’s Jamal Sakib in straight games.

The quarter finals of the Bangamata Squash Tournament – Presented by SA Group will take place on Sunday, March 20, with the final four moving through to the semi-finals of the competition.

Second Round Results: Bangamata Squash Tournament – Presented by SA Group
[1] Yassin Elshafei (EGY) bt [15] Jaideep Singh Sethi (IND) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (25m)
[5] Noor Zaman (PAK) bt [WC] MD Shorif (BAN) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 (25m)
[7] Hamza Sharif (PAK) bt Athbi Hamad (KUW) 3-1: 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 (34m)
[4] Alireza Shameli (IRI) bt Jamal Sakib (IND) 3-0: 11-9, 11-0, 11-7 (32m)
[3] Ammar Altamimi (KUW) bt [11] Rahul Baitha (IND) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 (35m)
[9] Hamza Khan (PAK) bt [6] Sandeep Ramachandran (IND) 3-2: 5-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6 (46m)
Ravindu Laksiri (SRI) bt [8] Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) 3-2: 6-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 16-14 (79m)
[2] Abhishek Agarwal (IND) bt [12] Ravi Dixit (IND) 3-1: 6-11, 11-3, 11-2, 11-0 (28m)

Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Sunday, March 20
[1] Yassin Elshafei (EGY) v [5] Noor Zaman (PAK)
[7] Hamza Sharif (PAK) v [4] Alireza Shameli (IRI)
[3] Ammar Altamimi (KUW) v [9] Hamza Khan (PAK)
Ravindu Laksiri (SRI) v [2] Abhishek Agarwal (IND)