Noor Zaman surged in the global squash rankings to break through in the Top 30 on Monday and reach a career best after a scintillating performance at last week’s Karachi Open that saw all six Pakistani players at the tournament improve in the PSA list.
Noor reached world number 30 on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) rankings, having achieved his previous career best of 37 on October 27 after a series of international wins.
The 21-year-old gave former world champion Mohamed Elshorbagy a run for his money as he took the Englishman to five intense games at the Karachi Open quarterfinals before being defeated 3-2, thereby ending Pakistan’s streak at the international championship.
Noor, the U23 world champion at the same venue last year, is no stranger to strong comebacks and lengthy, five-game matches. He was narrowly defeated in the fifth game with a match scoreline of 11-2, 11-8, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9.
Former world number one Elshorbagy called Noor one of the most focused players he’s ever seen.
“It’s great for Pakistan to have someone coming up, you guys need another world champion coming up soon since you’re a squash nation, and it’s very exciting for Pakistan to have Noor,” Elshorbagy said after the match.
Ashab Irfan, Noor’s only other compatriot in the Top 50, jumped up two spots for a career best 45 on PSA’s list.
Ashab also gave former world champion Karim Gawad a scare when he took the Egyptian to a five-game match that saw Gawad take the last three games with a scoreline of 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5.
The duo were accompanied by two men and two women, wildcard entrants.
Although veteran player Nasir Iqbal surged 35 places in the ranking to sit at world number 99, he has a career best of 35 achieved in February 2016.
Nasir was Pakistan’s only wildcard entrant to advance to the Round of 16, where he was defeated 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5) by Egyptian teenage sensation Mohamad Zakaria, who won the championship title in front of a packed audience on Sunday.
Like Nasir, Tayyab Aslam surged 50 points in the rankings to reach 149, which pales in comparison to his all-time high of 41 achieved in January 2021.
Tayyab was ousted 3-0 in the first round by Spain’s Iker Pajares (11-6, 11-2, 11-7).
Nasir and Noor were part of Pakistan’s Asian Games squad in 2023 to win a silver medal in the men’s team squash event.
Over on the women’s side, Sana Bahadar and Mariam Malik also achieved career-best rankings despite being knocked out of the Karachi Open in the first round.
Sana, who is entirely deaf and cannot speak, broke into the Top 200 to sit at 197. Her previous career best was 212 in Jan 2023. She was defeated 11-4, 11-1, 11-6 by Egypt’s Mariam Metwally.
“I was emotional when I found out Sana is deaf. I’ve never competed against a deaf player before, and it makes me realise how much we take for granted when you see her overcome the obstacles she has to reach this level,” world number 35 Metwally told Dawn after her match with Sana.
PSA’s latest rankings see Mariam at 214, up from 248, also in Jan 2023. Mariam was defeated 3-0 by Sin Yuk Chan of Hong Kong, China (11-2, 11-4, 11-0).
“It’s definitely a big margin to lose by, but it’s also a matter of trust to be playing at a gold level event like this,” Mariam, 22, told Dawn after her match.
“I can’t remember the last time a Pakistani woman player competed at a competition of this calibre, which helps build up local players like myself and my teammates.”
