Noor Zaman stormed to victory on Thursday in front of a full-house crowd as he beat Egypt’s Karim El Torkey 3-2 in the men’s final of the U23 World Squash Championship in Karachi.
Zaman defeated Malaysia’s Ameeshenraj Chandran yesterday to reach the final after Chandran retired during the third game of the last-four while trailing 6-11, 2-11, 4-6.
Torkey, who defeated seed Ibrahim Elkabbani, was up by two games in the final with Zaman looking for reprieve, narrowly took the game from the Egyptian.
Zaman had the upper hand in the fourth set, beating El Torkey 11-5.
With the score levelled 2-2 and his confidence restored, Noor dominated in the fifth game.
He didn’t leave El Torkey any chance at victory, winning the game 11-5 to take home the championship title
Zaman credited his efforts and hard work for the success, saying he had decided to avail himself of the struggle he had undergone so far.
Radio Pakistan reported that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the athlete on his success.
In separate statements today, they said the nation was proud of Zaman’s success and for bringing global recognition to the country with his “outstanding performance”.
PM Shehbaz expressed confidence that Pakistan would reclaim its “lost glory” in squash.