The Noor Zaman of Pakistan and Nasir Iqbal obtained a silver medal in the squash championship in double Asian, despite a valiant effort in the final on June 26.
The Pakistani duo fought hard but finally lost against the reigning champions, Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar of India, who triumphed 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 to maintain their title.
The final, held at the Kuching Sports Complex in Malaysia, was a hardened affair that lasted 1 hour and 27 minutes.
Although Zaman and Iqbal came out strong, their Indian counterparts gathered after the first taking place to win a victory in the other two, sealing gold for India.
The trip from Pakistan to the final was impressive, with Zaman and Iqbal defeating Malaysia in the semi-finals in a battle held of three games.
The pair triumphed 10-11, 11-9, 11-9 in a competition that lasted an hour and eight minutes, overcoming Syafiq Kamal and Duncan Lee to reserve their place in the final. Earlier, they had delivered another exciting performance to exceed Korea in the quarterfinals, winning 11-3, 5-11, 11-4 against Jiang Min Ryu and Jaijin Yoo.
In the phases of groups, the Pakistani pair presented an excellent form, guaranteeing a place in the direct elimination towers with a complete victory over the Chinese taipei.
Zaman and Iqbal sent Chi Yu-Wei and Chen CHING-FU 11-2, 11-9 in just 11 minutes to ensure qualification.
As a second seeded in the tournament, the Pakistani team has shown consistency from the start, with dominant victories over the Philippines (11-7, 11-4) and South Korea. Their performance throughout the championship has demonstrated their double squash potential at the Asian level.
Individually, Zaman had previously participated in the Asian individual squash championship, where he was eliminated in the pre -quarters of Malaysia Joachim Chuah after a five-game thriller.
Despite the fight against a rear spasm, Zaman organized a return after losing the first two games 3-11, 3-11, but finally dropped 2-11 in the decision maker.
Although Pakistan failed in the final, their silver medal marks an important achievement in the tournament, reflecting their strength as a double team and their growing stature in the international squash.
