PSF-COMBAXX International: Wildcard Ammad Among Surprise Winners

The opening day of the PSF-COMBAXX International Squash Tournament saw several surprises in terms of seeding, with the biggest of those seeing wildcard Muhammad Ammad take out Malaysia’s Wee Ming Hock in their first round contest in Islamabad.

The Challenger 10 level tournament is taking place at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad, Pakistan, with 24 players in action, the majority of those hailing from the host nation.

Ammad, the World No.546 coming into the competition, took on Malaysia’s Wee Ming Hock in the first round, and despite being more than 300 places lower than his opponent in the rankings, he completely outclassed him. The Pakistani youngster, only born in 2005, won in straight games and dropped just ten points, en route to an 11-6, 11-2, 11-2 victory in 22 minutes. He will now face No.5 seed Farhan Zaman in the second round on Thursday.

Another Pakistani to cause an upset on the first day in Islamabad was Naveed Rehman, as he got the better of Saeed Abdul. Rehman took the first two games to hold a commanding advantage, and then was able to regroup after Abdul won the third. He eventually took the win in four after 45 minutes, to book his spot in the next round, where he will now take on No.7 seed Muhammad Ashab Irfan.

The only match to go to five games on the opening day of the Challenger 10 level competition was the contest between Malaysia’s Hafiz Zhafri and Pakistan’s Zeeshan Zeb. The latter took a two-game lead, but saw the Malaysian fight back to send the tie into a decider. In the end, Zhafri came through in five, winning the deciding game 11-4, to book his spot in the last 16 of the tournament.

Iran’s Sepehr Etemadpoor was the fourth man to take a surprise victory on the opening day, as he got the better of Malaysia’s Duncan Lee in straight games. A first game tie-break was crucial, with the Iranian winning it 12-10, before then going on to win in three to book his spot in the next round, joining compatriot and No.3 seed for the tournament Alireza Shameli.

The PSF-COMBAXX International Squash Tournament continues on Thursday, August 25, with the top eight seeds making their bows in the event in Islamabad.

First Round Results: PSF-COMBAXX International Squash Tournament
Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt [WC] Moeen Ud Din (PAK) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (13m)
[WC] Muhammad Ammad (PAK) bt Wee Ming Hock (MAS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-2 (22m)
Naveed Rehman (PAK) bt Saeed Abdul (PAK) 3-1: 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8 (45m)
Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) bt Zeeshan Zeb (PAK) 3-2: 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 (59m)
Salman Saleem (PAK) bt Abdelrahman Nassar (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (41m)
Sepehr Etemadpoor (IRI) bt Duncan Lee (MAS) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-9 (30m)
Zahir Shah (PAK) bt [WC] Talha Saeed (PAK) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 (14m)
Abdallah Elmasry (EGY) bt Waqas Mehboob (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-4 (21m)

Second Round Draw: To Be Played Thursday, August 25
[2] Noor Zaman (PAK) v Farhan Mehboob (PAK)
[WC] Muhammad Ammad (PAK) v [5] Farhan Zaman (PAK)
[7] Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) v Naveed Rehman (PAK)
Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) v [3] Alireza Shameli (IRI)
[4] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) v Salman Saleem (PAK)
Sepehr Etemadpoor (IRI) v [8] Hamza Khan (PAK)
[6] Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) v Zahir Shah (PAK)
Abdallah Elmasry (EGY) v [1] Khaled Labib (EGY)