Qualifying Kicks Off at President Gold Cup

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The first qualifying round of the President Gold Cup International Squash Tournament, PSA M25 event saw Bilal Zakir progress on home soil after he downed Egypt’s Basem Makram in straight games.

The World No.413 produced a masterful performance that saw him remain consistent throughout. Zakir made very little errors throughout and displayed some fine court craft to gain governance of the ‘T’ and complete an 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 triumph to secure his place in the final round of qualifying.

He will meet Waqar Mehboob in the next round after his swept past fellow Pakistani Muhammad Farhan in four.

Local player Raees Khan has also booked his place in the final qualifying round after a hard-fought victory against Muhammad Shoaib Hassan. Khan found himself 2-1 down after game three but fought back heroically to set up a next round clash with Zahir Shah who beat Haseeb Gul.

Meanwhile, Waqas Mehboob stormed to victory against Abbas Maniar and he will meet top qualifying seed Asim Khan after Khandefeated Kashif Asif.

Ahsan Ayaz and Israr Ahmed will contest the last final qualifying round tie after they scored victories over Chaudhary Nasir Anwar and Syed Ali Mujtaba Shah Bokhari, respectively.

Results – First Qualifying Round: President Gold Cup International Squash Tournament 2015
[1] Asim Khan (PAK) bt [L] Kashif Asif (PAK) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (34 mins)
[L] Waqas Mehboob (PAK) bt [8] Abbas Maniar (USA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (21 mins)
[L] Raees Khan (PAK) bt [5] Muhammad Shoaib Hassan (PAK) 3-2: 8-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7 (38 mins)
[3] Zahir Shah (PAK) bt Haseeb Gul (PAK) 3-0: 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 (16 mins)
Bilal Zakir (PAK) bt [4] Basem Makram (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 (13 mins)
[6] Waqar Mehboob (PAK) bt Muhammad Farhan (PAK) 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-3 (39 mins)
[7] Israr Ahmed (PAK) bt [L] Syed Ali Mujtaba Shah Bokhari (PAK) 3-1: 11-1, 11-4, 6-11, 11-3 (32 mins)
[2] Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) bt Chaudhary Nasir Anwar (PAK) 3-0: 11-2, 11-2, 11-2 (11 mins)

Draw – Final Qualifying Round
[1] Asim Khan (PAK) v [L] Waqas Mehboob (PAK)
[L] Raees Khan (PAK) v [3] Zahir Shah (PAK)
Bilal Zakir (PAK) v [6] Waqar Mehboob (PAK)
[7] Israr Mehboob (PAK) v [2] Ahsan Ayaz (PAK)