FMC International 2016
02-07 May, Lahore, Pakistan, $15k

Farhan Mehboob trounced younger brother Waqar Mehboob to clinch the 4th FMC International Squash Championship 2016 title here at the Punjab Squash Complex on Saturday.

The final clash proved to be a one-sided affair as elder brother Farhan took just 25 minutes to outlast younger brother Waqar by 11-5, 11-3, 11-9 in the jam-packed final.

Farhan started the match on high pace and went on to take the first game 11-5. Farhan continued his superb form in the second too where he proved a bit harsh and outclass Waqar by 11-3. In the third game, Farhan started toying with his brother and allowed him to play his game and when the score was drawn at 9-9, Farhan once again showed the glimpses of his game and easily won the third and decisive game 11-9 to register the title victory.

The final clash was witnessed by squash legends Jahangir Khan and Gogi Allauddin while Punjab Squash Association (PSA) president AmjadNoon Malik, secretary Shiraz Saleem, vice president admin Tariq Rana, treasurer M Mansoor, squash lovers and players families.

At the prize distribution ceremony, FMC Managing Director Farooq Shahid was chief guest and he along with Jahangir Khan gave away prizes to the winners. Farooq Shahid also lauded the sterling performance of Farhan Mehboob and hoped he would continue serving the country at national and international level.

Squash legend Jahangir Khan, while speaking on the occasion, said: “We have trying to provide fresh and promising squash talent to the country through our academies, and we have been moving towards right direction. The time is not so far, when the young talent will emerge at higher level and start winning laurels for the country.”

Lauding the support of FMC for the promotion of squash, Jahangir said: “We direly needed sponsors like FMC which have been serving this game for the last four to five years and if the corporate sector will start supporting squash, we will soon succeed in regaining our lost squash glory. The government should also pay attention towards squash as if the game is taken care properly and provided with proper funds, it is our promise this game will help the country in earning laurels at the international level.”

Mehboob brothers also thanked the FMC and Punjab Squash Association for providing them a platform where they have exhibited their prowess and managed to win the first two positions. “The Punjab Squash Association and FMC have made excellent arrangements for conducting the events and it was really a remarkable event for us. This was for the second time this year, we brothers faced each other in the final. We are very glad our performances and hope to improve it further to win more and more laurels for us as well as for the country.”
 

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Qualifying:

Finals:
Raees Khan (Pak) 3-0 Bilal Zakir (Pak)                            11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (30m)
Faraz Muhammad (Pak) 3-0 Aqib Hanif (Pak)                  11-4, 11-9, 12-10 (28m)
Waqas Mehboob (Pak) 3-0 Mehran Javed (Pak)                11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (19m)
Kashif Asif (Pak) 3-1 Zeeshan Khan (Pak)                11-3, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (39m)

Round One:
Bilal Zakir (Pak) 3-0 Kashif Arif (Pak)                                11-3, 11-2, 11-3 (14m)
Raees Khan (Pak) 3-0 Asif Khan Khalil (Pak)                       11-4, 11-3, 11-6 (24m)
Aqib Hanif (Pak) 3-0 Syed Ali Bokhari (Pak)                        11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (24m)
Faraz Muhammad (Pak) 3-1 Mohammad Naeem (Pak) 7-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-7 (42m)
Mehran Javed (Pak) 3-0 Chaudhary Nasir Anwar (Pak)          11-2, 11-3, 11-5 (15m)
Waqas Mehboob (Pak) 3-0 Muhammad Ibrahim Noorani (Pak) 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (15m)
Zeeshan Khan (Pak) 3-2 Moin Rauf (Pak)           9-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 (46m)
Kashif Asif (Pak) 3-0 Salman Saleem (Pak)                          11-3, 11-6, 11-6 (23m)

05-May, Quarters:
Top seeds stunned in Lahore quarters

High-flying Israr Ahmed stunned top seed Farhan Zaman and spirited Amaad Fareed upset second seed Tayyab Aslam in the 4th FMC International quarterfinals at the Punjab Squash Complex.

In the first quarterfinal of day Ahmed outlasted top seed Farhan Zaman a 59-minute five game encounter to book his berth in the semifinal.

After Zaman took the first two games, both going to extra points,  everyone was expecting the top seed to win, but Ahmed started playing an aggressive game to win the third and fourth games with ease.  Zaman showed more resistance in the fifth but it was still Ahmed in control as he completed his comeback.
 
In the second quarterfinal of the day, Farhan Mehboob eased past qualifier Raees Khan in 27 minutes, and in the third match Waqar Mehbob routed Faraz Muhammad in 25 minutes.

The fourth and last quarterfinal produced another upset as wildcard Fareed stunned Tayyab Aslam in an 86-minutewell-contested match five-setter.