LAHORE: Yousaf Soleman of Egypt and Ivan Yuen of Malaysia qualified for the final of the FMC International Men’s Squash Championship 2018 after winning their respective semifinals played in four-glass court here at a local hotel on Thursday night.
The first semifinal played between Yousaf Soleman of Egypt and Farhan Mehboob of Pakistan proved to be a thrilling encounter and after a tough battle, the Egyptian overcame the local lad by 3-1. Farhan played superb squash and kept on fighting till the end, but the experienced Egyptian, who earlier defeated Asim Khan of Pakistan 11/13, 11/7, 7/11, 11/2, 12/10 in the quarterfinals, utilized his skills and international exposure to topple Farhan.
Both the players were off to flying start as they fought for each and every point and eventually, it was 10-all when Yousaf held onto his nerves and put Farhan under tremendous pressure to win the first game 12/10. Farhan, who is known as a true fighter, bounced back well in the second game as he overpowered the Egyptian by 11/9 to make it one-all. Yousaf then showed his class and managed to win the third game 11/9 after a tough fight. After playing so well, Farhan ran out of gas and was nowhere in the fourth game, which Yousaf easily take by 11/3, thus made his way to the prestigious final.
The second semifinal also proved to be a nail-biting encounter as Ivan Yuen of Malaysia and Tayyab Aslam of Pakistan displayed top quality squash and amused the spectators with their superb skills and shots. Tayyab faced tough resistance from the Malaysian player in the first game but he managed to win it 11/9. It was all that Tayyab could get from the match as despite fighting well and giving out his best, Ivan’s international experience helped him tame the spirited local boy and denied him crucial victory and berth in the final.
The Malaysian won the second game by 11/7, then take the third one 11/8 and in the fourth one, though he faced even more resistance, yet he managed to win it 11/9 to register a tremendous triumph, which not only earned him a place in the final but also a commendable admiration from the jam-packed crowd. Now Ivan will take on Egyptian Yousaf in the final to be played today (Friday) here in the four-glass court at a local hotel.
Earlier in quarter-finals played here on late Wednesday night, Pakistan’s Farhan Mehboob edged out beat Egyptian Mazan Gamal by 11/9, 11/8, 11/9 in 32 minutes, Tayyab Aslam of Pakistan beat Auguste Dussourd of France by 11/8, 11/9, 12/10 in 35 minutes and Ivan Yuen of Malaysia outpaced Israr Ahmad of Pakistan by 11/8, 11/6, 11/7 in 31 minutes.