Noor Zaman had the comeback of the tournament when he put on a show for a full house arena to be crowned men’s champion in the U23 World Squash Championship here in Karachi.
The 21-year-old was up against Egypt’s Karim El Torkey in what was expected to be anyone’s game as both men entered the final unbeaten throughout the tournament.
Noor took the first point in front of a packed home crowd full of citizens, foreign dignitaries, and squash legends like Jahangir Khan, Gogi Aladdin and Qamar Zaman, his grandfather and mentor.
El Torkey was off to a shaky start as he trailed 0-4 to Noor, but took the first point skilfully. Both men had a relatively clean game compared to skirmishes on the court in previous days.
The crowd oohed and aahed as the duo lobbed the ball and slid across the court to bag their points.
But Noor soon lost the upper hand as El Torkey pulled ahead to 8-4. The Pakistani kept playing low shots that cost him points.
The Egyptian’s calm demeanour helped him take the first game with ease.
A disheartened Noor was cheered into the court for the second game after being pep talked by his coach and compatriots sitting courtside.
Noor smashed into El Torkey in the first point but the Egyptian graciously moved on from the encounter as the referee gave a yes let decision.
El Torkey stole away to 4-0 as Noor grew visibly frustrated, with the crowd shouting ‘Shabash Noor’ till the Pakistani earned his first point followed by a second.
Noor caught up to 5-6 as the crowd cheered him on, and roared to action as the score was tied.
But El Torkey stole away to 7-6 quickly, taking an eighth point soon after.
The home crowd went wild as Noor inched closer with 8-9.
El Torkey’s 10-8 soon turned to 10-9 as the crowd watched with baited breath. But a missed shot from the Egyptian took the score to 10-10 much to the crowd’s delight.
The arena erupted in thunderous applause as Noor pulled ahead to 11-10. But El Torkey wasnt going to give up so easily and levelled the score 11-11.
Noor took it to 12-11 and 13-11, reacting ecstatically at what he thought was a win, but a player review from the Egyptian kept the score back to 12-11 as a dismayed Noor asked the referee for an explanation.
El Torkey roared and pumped his fists when he levelled the score 12-12 as Noor dived to get the ball. He stole away to 13-12, and it seemed as though Noor had almost let the point go.
El Torkey was quick with his 14-12. Noor stormed off the court to encouraging claps while the Egyptian revelled in the victory of his second game win.
Noor had a slow and calculated third game that smoothly reached 3-0, to the crowd’s delight.
The Egyptian was one of the more calm ones as he listened to the referee after asking for a point review, contrary to more aggressive compatriots.
Noor played a fabulous low shot to catch El Torkey off guard and pull ahead to 5-1, which quickly turned to 6-1, and 7-1.
The crowd was audibly dismayed when El Torkey scored his second point.
The world no. 55 played the toughest shots but Noor, ranked 68 globally,
received them just as skilfully.
Noor’s lead was slipping through his fingers as the score became 9-6 and he grabbed his head in first station at lost points.
He pulled ahead to win the third set to thunderous applause and encouragement from the crowd.
Noor was being attended to as he recovered in the two minute break, with compatriot Muhammad Ammad, who won the consolation final 3-2 against Canada’s Karim Michael, seen massaging his legs and hyping him up for the next game.
Noor fumbled with his first few points in the fourth game but dominated to win 11-5.
Noor entered the court for the final game to applause from the crowd so long the match referee had to quieten them.
Noor took the first point. And the second. Confidence seemed to be restored after being down two sets.
The Egyptian failed to score and Noor was sprinting to victory with 5-0, pumping his fists at each point.
A few more points in and the score was 7-4. Both men looked exhausted at this point but showed no signs of letting go of the championship title.
Noor stole away to 9-5, but El Torkey was quick to score his sixth point.
With the score 10-6, Noor was on the cusp of victory. He played a fantastic championship ball to win the game, match and final and be crowned men’s champion as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
He turned to the referee to confirm his victory before dropping his racquet and falling to the floor in pure exhaustion and exhilaration.
Teammates and coaches ran into the glass court with the Pakistan flag as Noor rose to his feet and hugged his opponent.
The newly crowned champion cried into his grandfathers shoulders in a picture perfect moment with applause fading into the background.
“I was down two games, and the only thing I had in my mind was that I need to show how hard I’ve worked to get here. And Alhamdulillah, the match was mine,” Noor said in his post-match interview as he adorned the Pakistani flag and thanked the crowd for all their support.
Egyptian triumph on the women’s side
Egypt’s Fayrouz Abouelkheir picked up the championship title in a quick 31 minute final against Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk.
She took the first two sets 12-10, 11-9 with ease.
Yuk had a slow start in the third game and had exhaustion written all over her as she crept to Abouelkheir’s 8-5.
The Egyptian breezed through the next two points to win the final without breaking a sweat, it seemed.
“I know I’m not the fittest player on tour and I’m always trying to work on that,” she said in her post match interview.
The closing ceremony began with Sindh Squash Association President Adnan Asad calling the event a gateway and first step to getting Pakistan squash back on track.
“This tournament was to set the stage and produce another Jahangir Khan in the modern age. The target is to secure Olympic gold at LA 2028.”
World Squash Federation President Zena Woolridge highlighted how this was the first women’s championship to be held in Pakistan and hoped for momentum on this front.
She thanked the hosts for organising a world class event, and especially thanked the players.
“The camaraderie shows that sports has no boundaries, not language nor culture. The camarediry has been fantastic both on and off court.”
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said: “I used to watch Jahangir Khan and Qamar Zaman, and to see the talent now in Noor Zaman; this is a great moment for squash and for Pakistan.”
President, PM facilitate Noor
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the athlete on his success, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
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.
