Punjab International Open: Khan Takes First Title In Two Years

The Punjab International Open came to a conclusion in Lahore yesterday, with World No.70 Asim Khan securing his first title on Tour since a victory on home soil in 2019.

Khan came into the event as the No.2 seed, and he started his campaign with a victory over wildcard Huzaifa Shahid, winning in 23 minutes to secure his spot in the second round.

He then got the better of Bilal Zakir in the last 16, before Khan then downed No.6 seed Waqas Mehboob to make it through to the semi-finals, where the Pakistani then downed one of the surprise packages of the event, No.14 seed Zeeshan Zeb.

After defeating Zeb in a five-game thriller in the last four, the final was a much more straightforward contest, as Khan overcame the challenge from No.4 seed Israr Ahmed, winning in 36 minutes to claim his fifth title on Tour.

Results: Punjab International Open
Final
[2] Asim Khan (PAK) bt [4] Israr Ahmed (PAK) 3-0: 13-11, 11-6, 11-5 (36m)

Semi-Finals
[4] Israr Ahmed (PAK) bt [1] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) 3-2: 4-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11 (55m)
[2] Asim Khan (PAK) bt [14] Zeeshan Zeb (PAK) 3-2: 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 6-11, 11-5 (40m)

Quarter Finals
[1] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) bt [12] Saeed Abdul (PAK) 3-1: 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9 (30m)
[4] Israr Ahmed (PAK) bt [8] Hamza Sharif (PAK) 3-0: 14-12, 11-7, 11-5 (29m)
[14] Zeeshan Zeb (PAK) bt [3] Farhan Zaman (PAK) 3-2: 11-8, 7-11, 12-14, 11-7, 11-4 (43m)
[2] Asim Khan (PAK) bt [6] Waqas Mehboob (PAK) 3-1: 11-7, 5-11, 12-10, 13-11 (40m)

Round Two
[1] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) bt [13] Muhammad Farhan (PAK) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (14m)
[12] Saeed Abdul (PAK) bt [7] Zahir Shah (PAK) 3-2: 9-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-13, 11-8 (44m)
[8] Hamza Sharif (PAK) bt [11] Naveed Rehman (PAK) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (22m)
[4] Israr Ahmed (PAK) bt [15] Muhammad Abdul Qadir (PAK) 3-0: 12-10, 11-3, 13-11 (25m)
[3] Farhan Zaman (PAK) bt [9] Muhammad Farhan Hashmi (PAK) 3-1: 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6 (30m)
[14] Zeeshan Zeb (PAK) bt Mehran Javed (PAK) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (30m)
[6] Waqas Mehboob (PAK) bt [10] Salman Saleem (PAK) 3-2: 9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5 (35m)
[2] Asim Khan (PAK) bt Bilal Zakir (PAK) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (18m)

Round One
[1] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) bt Waqar Mehboob (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-3 (21m)
[13] Muhammad Farhan (PAK) bt Mian Abdul Mughni (PAK) 3-0: 12-10, 11-4, 11-3 (14m)
[12] Saeed Abdul (PAK) bt Muhammad Hassaan Raza (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-2, 11-7 (24m)
[7] Zahir Shah (PAK) bt Muhammad Essa (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (12m)
[8] Hamza Sharif (PAK) bt Malik Abdul Moiez (PAK) 3-0: 11-4, 11-1, 11-12 (11m)
[11] Naveed Rehman (PAK) bt Muhammad Uzair (PAK) 3-2: 11-5, 11-8, 11-13, 9-11, 11-8 (42m)
[15] Muhammad Abdul Qadir (PAK) bt [WC] Ahmad Amin (PAK) 3-1: 11-6, 11-7, 2-11, 11-5 (23m)
[4] Israr Ahmed (PAK) bt [WC] Junaid Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 (18m)
[3] Farhan Zaman (PAK) bt Mutahir Ali Shah (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 (24m)
[9] Muhammad Farhan Hashmi (PAK) bt Muhammad Sami Ullah (UAE) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 (27m)
[14] Zeeshan Zeb (PAK) bt Haseeb Taj (PAK) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-1 (14m)
Mehran Javed (PAK) bt [5] Amaad Fareed (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (16m)
[6] Waqas Mehboob (PAK) bt Muhammad Ibrahim Noorani (PAK) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-3 (13m)
[10] Salman Saleem (PAK) bt Faraz Muhammad (PAK) 3-1: 11-6, 10-12, 12-10, 11-4 (26m)
Bilal Zakir (PAK) bt [16] Faizan Khan (PAK) 3-1: 11-9, 7-11, 11-6, 11-2 (27m)
[2] Asim Khan (PAK) bt [WC] Huzaifa Shahid (PAK) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-2 (23m)