Gawad Survives Scare In Dubai Cup by Nathan Clarke November 24, 2014
- Top seed Karim Abdel Gawad came close to a shock exit against Farhan
Zaman in the first round of the 2014 Dubai Squash Cup, International 25
tournament.
With 52 places between the two in the world rankings, few would have
expected Zaman to give Gawad such a run for his money but it was the
Pakistani player who shot into action first, controlling the opening
two games to put clear daylight between his Egyptian opponent and
himself.
Gawad rallied and clawed back an 11-7 win in the third before
demolishing Zaman in the fourth to win it 11-0 and draw rapturous
applause from the crowd and he remained focused to take a tight final
game 11-8 to advance to the next round.
“He [Zaman] is one of my best friends on the tour," said Gawad. "We
grew up together, but this is the first time we have played together
since we were nine years old. But of course, I know how good he is.
“I was expecting a very tough match. I’m a bit lucky, I was down 2-0
and managed to win in five. I’m just looking forward for my next
matches.”
Gawad will face Ammar Altamimi in the second round after the
26-year-old from Kuwait made it past wildcard Aamir Malik in straight
sets while Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan did fall to a shock loss to Aamir Atlas
Khan.
The number four seed went 2-0 down to the unseeded Pakistani before
levelling it up with some masterful squash. Khan though was able to
stop the momentum swing and secured an unlikely victory by winning the
final game 11-5.
He will be hoping to take this form into the next round where he will
face Tayyab Aslam after his 3-1 win over Muhammad Saqib Yousaf.
Number two seed Chris Simpson is also through to the next round after
he triumphed in an efficient performance against qualifier Shehab Essam
Hosny 3-0. The Englishman defeated his opponent 11-4, 11-4 and 11-6 to
set up a second round match against Hossam Nasser, who secured a
terrific 3-2 win over Addeen Idrakie in the previous round.
