Pakistan Power Back Into World's Top Eight In Denmark

After suffering a shock defeat in the final qualifying round in the 22nd Men's World Team Championship in Denmark, former champions Pakistan powered back into contention by beating higher-seeded Malaysia to earn a surprise place in the quarter-finals of the World Squash Federation event at Squash Center Denmark in the city of Odense.

Farhan Mehboob showed the class that has marked him out as a future world-beater by beating Malaysia's world No19 Ong Beng Hee 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 11-5 in 51 minutes to put the sixth seeds into the lead. Mohd Azlan Iskandar then levelled the tie for Malaysia, the No5 seeds, when Pakistan's top string Aamir Atlas Khan retired injured after two games.

The decider saw a dramatic battle between Yasir Butt, the world No48 from Lahore, and Malaysian Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan, ranked 15 places lower. Adnan took the opening game, but Butt battled back to win the match 7-11, 11-2, 12-10, 11-9 after 57 minutes to ensure an improvement on their ninth place finish last time.

Six times champions Pakistan will face Australia - winner of the world title a record eight times - after the third seeds had a straightforward 3/0 win over Ireland. After losing his first ever match for his country 24 hours earlier, Australian number one David Palmer was back to his best to beat Australian-born Irishman Liam Kenny in straight games.

Italy is another team making great waves in the 2009 championship: From a best-ever 16th finish in 1991, the revitalised squad made it into the quarter-finals for the first time with an impressive 2/1 win over former runners-up New Zealand.

Unranked former Englishman Marcus Berrett, one of two new additions to the Italian squad, defied current form by overcoming world-ranked Kiwi Campbell Grayson 11-13, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5 in a 71-minute battle. New Zealand number one Kashif Shuja brought the 10th seeds back into contention after another five-game clash, edging out Italian number one Davide Bianchetti after 68 minutes.

But Italy's hero of the day was Amr Swelim, a former Egyptian who switched allegiance to the European nation early in the year. The 25-year-old played the game of his life to beat experienced Martin Knight 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 to claim Italy's place in the last eight.

The eighth seeds will face second seeds England after the defending champions - without the services of top string Nick Matthew, who is sidelined following an ankle injury - eased to a 2/1 win over outsiders Kuwait. Peter Barker and James Willstrop were England's victors, with wins over Salem Fayez Mohammed and Abdullah Almezayen, respectively.

Seventh seeds Canada, boosted by the return from retirement of the nation's most distinguished player Jonathon Power, reached the quarter-finals for the eighth time in a row with a 3/0 win over Scotland. But 35-year-old Power, from Montreal, had to call upon all his experience to fight off a spirited challenge from Alan Clyne to beat the Scottish number one 11-5, 11-8, 3-11, 6-11, 11-2 in 63 minutes.

Canada will move on to face Egypt after the favourites despatched 15th seeds Germany 3/0.

Another team fielding a former stalwart of the PSA Tour is South Africa. Buoyed by their unexpected pool win over Pakistan, the 11th seeds beat USA, seeded one place below, 2/1 to make the last eight for the first time since 2001.

But it was 37-year-old Rodney Durbach, a former world number 23 who retired four years ago, who put South Africa in a commanding position in the tie, beating full-timer Gilly Lane 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 13-11 in the 65-minute opening match.

US number one Julian Illingworth levelled the tie with a marathon victory over Stephen Coppinger - but Cape Town's world No91 Clinton Leeuw clinched victory for his side after beating Christopher Gordon, ranked more than ten places higher, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10 in 72 minutes.

Last sixteen round:
[1] EGYPT bt [15] GERMANY 3/0
Amr Shabana bt Stefan Leifels 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 (25m)
Karim Darwish bt Simon Rosner 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 (38m)
Wael El Hindi bt Raphael Kandra 11-7, 11-6 (17m)

[7] CANADA bt [17/24] SCOTLAND 3/0
Shahier Razik bt Stuart Crawford 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 (25m)
Jonathon Power bt Alan Clyne 11-5, 11-8, 3-11, 6-11, 11-2 (63m)
Shawn Delierre bt Chris Small 11-7, 16-14 (23m)

[4] AUSTRALIA bt [14] IRELAND 3/0
Stewart Boswell bt Arthur Gaskin 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (36m)
David Palmer bt Liam Kenny 11-7, 11-4, 11-9 (44m)
Cameron Pilley bt Derek Ryan 11-7, 11-3 (16m)

[6] PAKISTAN bt [5] MALAYSIA 2/1
Farhan Mehboob bt Ong Beng Hee 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 11-5 (51m)
Aamir Atlas Khan lost to Mohd Azlan Iskandar 10-12, 6-11 ret. (27m)
Yasir Butt bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 7-11, 11-2, 12-10, 11-9 (57m)

[11] SOUTH AFRICA bt [12] USA 2/1
Rodney Durbach bt Gilly Lane 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 13-11 (65m)
Stephen Coppinger lost to Julian Illingworth 15-13, 9-11, 9-11, 10-12 (66m)
Clinton Leeuw bt Christopher Gordon 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10 (72m)

[3] FRANCE bt [13] NETHERLANDS 3/0
Renan Lavigne bt Rene Mijs 11-3, 11-4, 11-8 (31m)
Gregory Gaultier bt Piedro Schweertman 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 (23m)
Julien Balbo bt Sebastian Weenink 11-7, 11-5 (23m)

[8] ITALY bt [10] NEW ZEALAND 2/1
Marcus Berrett bt Campbell Grayson 11-13, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5 (71m)
Davide Bianchetti lost to Kashif Shuja 10-12, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 7-11 (68m)
Amr Swelim bt Martin Knight 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (47m)

[2] ENGLAND bt [17/24] KUWAIT 2/1
Peter Barker bt Salem Fayez Mohammed 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 (24m)
James Willstrop bt Abdullah Almezayen 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6 (43m)
Adrian Grant lost to Bader Al Hussaini 11-6, 13-15, 9-11 (50m)

17th - 24th place play-offs:
[16] HONG KONG bt [17/24] SPAIN 3/0
Max Lee bt Alejandro Garbi Caro 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4 (46m)
Dick Lau bt David Vidal 14-12, 11-2, 11-9 (40m)
Anson Kwong bt Eduardo Gonzales De Chaves 11-9, 11-7 (19m)

[17/24] FINLAND bt [17/24] WALES 2/1
Henrik Mustonen bt Jethro Binns 11-2, 2-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7 (42m)
Olli Tuominen bt Rob Sutherland 11-3, 11-9, 6-11, 11-4 (45m)
Matias Tuomi lost to Peter Creed 9-11, 6-11 (42m)

[17/24] DENMARK bt [17/24] SWEDEN 2/1
Kristian Frost Olesen bt Joakim Larsson 11-5, 11-9, 11-4 (43m)
Rasmus Nielsen bt Carl-Johan Lofvenborg 11-5, 11-8, 16-14 (41m)
Danny Knudsen lost to Andre Vikstrom 6-11, 9-11 (22m)

[9] INDIA bt [17/24] AUSTRIA 2/1
Harinder Pal Sandhu bt Jakob Dirnberger 11-5, 13-11, 11-9 (27m)
Ritwik Bhattacharya lost to Aqeel Rehman 8-11, 9-11, 9-11 (30m)
Gaurav Nandrajog bt Stefan Brauneis 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 (24m)

25th - 28th place play-offs:
[25/28] SERBIA bt [25/28] VENEZUELA 3/0
Daniel Zilic bt Juan Pablo Rothie 12-10, 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8 (48m)
Dennis Drenjovski bt Francisco Valecillo 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (19m)
Ivan Djordjevic bt Juan Pablo Sanchez 11-0, 11-6, 11-0 (17m)

[25/28] JAPAN bt [25/28] KENYA 2/1
Tsukue Shinnosuke bt Rajdeep Bains 11-6, 11-6, 11-1 (21m)
Yuta Fukui bt Hardeep Reel 11-7, 11-9, 11-4 (40m)
Shimizu Takanori lost to Hartaj Bains 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 5-11 (35m)