ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s squash star Muhammad Asim Khan defeated England’s defending champion Nick Wall to win the Charlottesville Open tournament on Sunday, making it his maiden PSA Tour World events title.
Khan’s impressive run in the tournament began after he beat Brazil’s Diego Gobbi in the first round of the tournament before upsetting second seed Yahya Elnawasany in the last eight. He then beat fifth seed Cesar Salazar in the semifinals to secure a berth in the final against Wall.
In the final, Khan downed Wall 3-1: 12-14, 12-10, 11-5 and 11-6 to lift the trophy.
“I didn’t expect any of this,” Khan said after the match. “I’ve been playing squash for the last few years – four or five years – and I was struggling a lot, not winning any matches in big tournaments like this.”
Khan said he was confident heading into the match after beating the second seed. He praised Wall for being “an experienced player and a very skillful player.”
“I tried to move him to the front court and the back court and I’m happy that I managed to do that,” Khan said.
Pakistan has always been counted among the world’s top squash-playing nations, introducing legendary players of the sport such as Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan, Azam Khan, and Qamar Zaman to the world.
Between themselves, Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan won the World Squash Open title 14 times for Pakistan during the ‘80s and the ‘90s.
