India Clinches Asian Doubles Title with Victory Over Pakistan

KUCHING: At the Asian Doubles Squash Championship in Malaysia, Pakistan’s team earned a silver medal after a strong showing in the men’s doubles final. They were narrowly defeated 2-1 by rivals India on Thursday.

Noor Zaman and Nasir Iqbal, the Pakistani representatives, put up a tough fight but were ultimately bested by Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar of India. The Indian duo retained their Asian title with a 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 victory.

The closely contested final spanned one hour and 27 minutes.

Notably, Zaman and Iqbal demonstrated impressive form throughout the competition, leading up to the final.

Semifinal Victory

In Wednesday’s semifinal, they prevailed over the Malaysian team in a tight three-game match, securing a 10-11, 11-9, 11-9 victory after one hour and eight minutes.

They triumphed over Malaysia’s experienced pair, Syafiq Kamal and Duncan Lee, securing their place in the final match.

Quarterfinal Result

Earlier in the tournament, Pakistan secured a 2-1 victory against Korea in the quarterfinals. The tandem of Iqbal and Zaman achieved victory in another compelling contest against Jiang Min Ryu and Jaijin Yoo, with scores of 11-3, 5-11, 11-4.

The Pakistani team also displayed strength in the group stage, qualifying for the knockout phase after a decisive win against Chinese Taipei.

Nasir and Noor defeated Chi Yu-Wei and Chen Ching-Fu in straight sets, 11-2, 11-9, in just 11 minutes.

Pakistan, seeded second in the tournament, commenced their campaign on Monday with convincing wins over the Philippines (11-7, 11-4) and South Korea, maintaining consistent form throughout the championship.

Individual Performance

Individually, Noor Zaman had previously participated in the Asian Individual Squash Championship, exiting in the pre-quarterfinals after a hard-fought five-game match against Joachim Chuah of Malaysia.

Despite experiencing a back spasm, Zaman lost the initial two games 3-11, 3-11, then recovered by winning the subsequent two 11-3, 12-10, before ultimately losing 2-11 in the final game.