Shahid Celebrates Hat-Trick Win In Lahore

Pakistan's Shahid Zaman claimed his third PSA Tour title of the year when he despatched Malaysia's Mohd Azlan Iskandar in a 47-minute battle between the top two seeds in the final of the PTCL Pakistan Circuit No2 Championship at the Punjab Squash Complex in Lahore.

It was a close-fought affair - as was predicted by the fact that the pair stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the Dunlop PSA World Rankings, the Pakistan No1 seed at 17 and second seed Iskandar one place below.

Twice the Malaysian led, but on both occasions Zaman fought back - and ultimately snatched the decider to clinch a popular local triumph in a 5-11 11-7 3-11 11-5 11-8 scoreline.

It was a confidence-boosting win for the 22-year-old from Quetta who will represent Pakistan in next month's World Games in Germany. The multi-sport event, which is being staged in Duisburg under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will feature 3,500 athletes from 100 nations, competing at 27 venues in 40 sports ranging from Sumo to Squash.

Final:
[1] Shahid Zaman (PAK) bt [2] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 5-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-5, 11-8 (47m)