Malaysians Upset Local Stars In Peshawar

Local hopes of an all-Pakistani final in the CAS International were dashed by two Malaysians at the Army Squash Complex in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Malaysia's Mohd Azlan Iskandar, the third seed, was looking for revenge as he took on top seed Mansoor Zaman, the Peshawar-based Pakistan No1 to whom he lost at the same stage of the 2003 event.

It was a close-fought encounter, but the 22-year-old from Sarawak maintained his focus to come through 11-9 11-10 11-7 and claim his seventh PSA Tour final appearance.

The other semi-final went according to the seedings, but experienced second seed Ong Beng Hee, a former world No7, was taken to four games by Pakistan prodigy Yasir Butt, the 16-year-old qualifier who knocked out fourth seed Shahid Zaman on his way to the semi-finals.

After 41 minutes, however, Beng Hee wrapped up his 11-8 6-11 11-9 11-6 victory - and a place in his 12th PSA Tour final.

The Peshawar final will give Iskandar further chance for revenge: Ong Beng Hee beat his domestic rival in the semi-finals of the Asian Championships in June, en-route to winning the regional title for the third successive time.

Semi-finals:
[3] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [1] Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-9, 11-10 (7-5), 11-7
[2] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Yasir Butt (PAK) 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6 (41m)