Pakistan’s squash renaissance is guaranteed a local champion as young compatriots and relatives Hamza Khan and Noor Zaman Khan stormed the final of the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) International Squash Championships at the Serena Hotel on Thursday, setting up an all-Pakistani title decider.
The final, to be played on Friday, pits world number 101 Hamza against second seed and world number 43 Noor, with both players expressing their ambition to return Pakistan to its former glory on the world squash scene.
Hamza continued his sensational run in the tournament, adding Switzerland’s David Bernet to his list of scalps just one day after surprising top seed Karim El Hamamy of Egypt.
They cruised to a thrilling 11-9, 11-13, 12-10, 11-5 victory in a 55-minute thriller semi-final.
After a close first game, Bernet recovered and overcame an exciting second set. Hamza regained control, winning a tight third set before dominating the fourth with powerful crosscourt shots to seal the match.
“I am very happy to win this match. For the first time in my career,” Hamza said while speaking to dawn.com. “I’m going to play this $35,000 PSA tournament level. This will help me improve my ranking,” the 20-year-old added.
He expressed his excitement about facing Noor in the finals, recalling their last encounter.
“The last time [I and Noor] We met at the USA Junior Open in 2021, where I defeated Noor 3-1 and now, after four years, we are going to play another final.”
“I am fully prepared to fight hard in the final. I am hopeful of winning as throughout this tournament my performance remained outstanding and I caused a surprise against the top seed,” he said, while appreciating Noor’s performance.
Highlighting Pakistan’s overall success, he noted: “It is great that in this championship we have defeated about eight Egyptian players, so our squash is on the right track and hopefully we will regain the lost glory.”
While he cited legends Jansher and Jahangir Khan as inspirations, Hamza also highlighted the influence of his family.
“But I will also highlight the name of Shahid Zaman and Mansoor Zaman, whose game inspires me a lot, as squash is our family game.”
Reflecting on his journey, Hamza added that he started playing from the age of 11 and after a lot of hard work, he achieved the youth championship in 2023.
“It was a proud moment as Pakistan had to wait for 37 long years to win this title after Jansher.”
In the second semi-final, Noor’s path to the final was less arduous as his opponent, Nasir Iqbal, lost the match due to a stomach ailment.
After Noor won the first set 11-5, during which Nasir took a three-minute medical break, the latter retired after just two points in the second set, giving the under-23 world champion a 11-5, 11-1 win.
Noor, the 21-year-old grandson of legend Qamar Zaman, said he is in good shape and is hopeful of reaching the final.
“It was unfortunate that after the era of Jansher and Jahangir, our gourd gradually faced a decline, but now things are improving,” Noor said. Sunrise.
“I love squash. At the age of seven I started playing under the valuable guidance of my grandfather, the legendary Qamar Zaman, now my main goal is to improve my ranking and become part of the top 30 players in the world within a year,” he added.
Nasir explained that his decision to retire was out of caution.
“I recently got dengue fever and I’m still not in top shape,” Nasir, 31, revealed while speaking to sunrise.com. “So I decided to give up this match to stay fit for the upcoming mega international squash tournament, which will be held in Karachi in January.”
