Darwish Dashes Home Hopes In Pakistan CNS International

Egypt's Karim Darwish dashed domestic hopes of success in the established PSO CNS International when he beat local opponent Farhan Mehboob in the final of the $25,000 PSA Tour event at the Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan/Jahangir Khan Squash Complex in the Pakistan city of Karachi.

The world No11 from Cairo, seeded to win the event for the second time since 2002, reached the 2007 final without dropping a game.

But Mehboob, the 18-year-old world No54 from Peshawar, twice shook up the national hierarchy in the sport when he upset two higher-ranked compatriots to secure a surprise place in the final. Seeded seven, and in fourth place in the list of Pakistanis in the PSA world rankings, Mehboob first upset third seed Aamir Atlas Khan - now the top-ranked Pakistani - in a four-game quarter-final, before overcoming No2 seed Mansoor Zaman in straight games in the semis.

But Darwish was too strong in the final, winning 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 in 38 minutes to claim his first PSA Tour title of the year - and the 12th of his career.

Final:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [7] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (38m)