Asian Team Squash Championship: Pakistan beat India to qualify for semis

Pakistan’s coach Fahim Gul confirms that Iqbal was suffering from fever due to which he could not perform up to mark

KARACHI: In yet another remarkable victory, Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals Friday after impressively defeating India, despite Nasir Iqbal’s below par performance in the Asian Team Squash Championship.

The Greens won by 2-1 against the Blues in the squash tournament taking place in Dalian, China where Pakistan’s Asim Khan secured the lead for his side with a 3-0 finish against Rahul Baitha.

But India were brought back by Velavan Senthilkumar in the game with a 3-0 win against Nasir Iqbal.

Pakistan’s coach Fahim Gul confirmed after the match that Iqbal was suffering from fever due to which he could not perform up to the mark.

With the match level at 1-1, Pakistan’s Noor Zaman stepped up for his side and delivered a flawless performance to beat Suraj Kumar Chand 3-0 and help his side move on to the next round.

Pakistan will face Hong Kong, who defeated Iran, in the semi-final tomorrow.

Pakistan coach Gul was elated after the win against India and hoped that the team will do well in the upcoming matches as well.

Earlier, Pakistan remained unbeaten in Pool C of the event where they were alongside South Korea, Chinese Taipei and China.

Pakistan beat Taipei 3-0 and Korea 2-1 on the opening day to make a good start to the tournament. Meanwhile, they beat China yesterday 3-0 to top their pool.