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Pakistan’s Noor Zaman and Nasir Iqbal secured a silver medal at the Asian Doubles Squash Championship, despite a valiant effort in the final on June 26.
The Pakistani duo fought hard but ultimately lost to the defending champions, Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar of India, who triumphed 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 to retain their title.
The final, held at the Kuching Sports Complex in Malaysia, was a hard-fought affair that lasted 1 hour and 27 minutes.
Although Zaman and Iqbal came out strong, their Indian counterparts regrouped after the first set to claim a victory in the remaining two, sealing the gold for India.
Pakistan’s journey to the final was impressive, with Zaman and Iqbal defeating Malaysia in the semi-finals in a tense three-game battle.
The pair triumphed 10-11, 11-9, 11-9 in a contest that lasted one hour and eight minutes, overcoming Syafiq Kamal and Duncan Lee to book their place in the final. Earlier, they had delivered another thrilling performance to edge past Korea in the quarter-finals, winning 11-3, 5-11, 11-4 against Jiang Min Ryu and Jaijin Yoo.
In the group stages, the Pakistani pair exhibited excellent form, securing a spot in the knockout rounds with a comprehensive win over Chinese Taipei.
Zaman and Iqbal dispatched Chi Yu-Wei and Chen Ching-Fu 11-2, 11-9 in just 11 minutes to ensure qualification.
As second seeds in the tournament, the Pakistan team showed consistency from the outset, with dominant victories over the Philippines (11-7, 11-4) and South Korea. Their performance throughout the championship demonstrated their potential in doubles squash at the Asian level.
Individually, Zaman had previously competed in the Asian Individual Squash Championship, where he was eliminated in the pre-quarterfinals by Malaysia’s Joachim Chuah after a five-game thriller.
Despite battling a back spasm, Zaman staged a comeback after losing the first two games 3-11, 3-11, but eventually fell 2-11 in the decider.
Although Pakistan fell short in the final, their silver medal marks a significant achievement in the tournament, reflecting their strength as a doubles team and their rising stature in international squash.
