Pakistan advanced to the semi-finals of the Asian Games men’s team squash competition on Wednesday after defeating South Korea 2-0 in the quarter-finals at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena.
The duo advanced to the Final Four with a resounding 2-0 win over South Korea’s Jooyoung Na and Seojin Oh in the quarter-final, held here at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena.
Ashab started the proceedings for Pakistan by locking horns with Jooyoung in the singles match and scripted a dominant start, securing a straight-sets 3-0 victory.
He completely outclassed Jooyoung in the opening game, which he clinched 11-5 in just nine minutes. The South Korean offered notable resistance in the subsequent games, but Ashab prevailed 11-8 in both, to give Pakistan an early advantage.
In the second tie, another singles duel, Noor was tested by Seojin, who clinched the third game, but the 22-year-old ultimately prevailed 3-1.
Noor made a resounding start to the fixture as he crushed Seojin 11-4 and 11-5 in the first two games, respectively, moving just one away from securing a thumping victory for the Pakistan team.
But Seojin hit back in the third game, winning it thumping by 11-8 in just seven minutes, and forced the duel into the fourth game, in which Noor completely outclassed him 11-2 to round up a high-stakes victory for Pakistan.
The triumph propelled Pakistan into the semi-finals of the men’s teams squash competition, besides guaranteeing at least a bronze for the country, which would be their third overall in the discipline.
In the knockout fixture, the Pakistan team, comprising Noor and Ashab, alongside Iqbal Nasir and Asim Khan, will collide with Hong Kong, China’s Tsz Kwan Lau, Chi Hin Henry Leung, Cheuk Nam Lai and Ming Hong Tang, at the same venue on Thursday.