Pakistan’s Hamza Khan and Noor Zaman started strong in the inaugural Under-23 World Squash Championships, which began Sunday at Karachi’s Creek Club.
Noor Zaman, the second seed, defeated Kuwait’s Hussain Alzaatari with scores of 6-11, 11-5, 4-11, 3-11. Meanwhile, former world junior squash champion Hamza Khan swept past Romania’s Radu Stefan Pena in straight sets, winning 3-11, 1-11, 5-11.
Hamza Khan rose to prominence in 2023 after becoming the World Junior Squash Champion by defeating Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria, ending Pakistan’s nearly four-decade drought since its last junior title in 1986.
Unfortunately, Pakistan’s Mariam Malik faced a tough challenge in the opening match, losing to Spain’s Noa Romero Blazquez with scores of 11-3, 11-2, 11-4.
The championships, running from April 6 to 10, feature 32 players in the men’s draw and 22 players in the women’s draw.
According to World Squash, the winner secures direct qualification to the PSA World Championships and claims the largest share of the $60,000 prize pool.
