Azan in Squash Cup last 8

Dubai — Asyraf Azan of Malaysia upset Abdullah Al Muzayen of Kuwait 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10 to enter the quarter-final of the Dubai Squash Cup.

Azan won the first game handily against the Asian Games gold medallist, 11-5. But Al Muzayen rallied to draw level by winning the next 11-8. Al Muzayen kept his play tight in the third, despite some apparent leg pain, but Azan’s pick-ups were on point and the game went his way. Al Muzayen started down 2-9 in the fourth, but battled back, going on a lovely run of corner drops to level it at 9-9 and then take the game. But Azan had a bit more life in him for the decider, and though the two went point for point, he claimed the game and match in extra points.

“His shots were just amazing,” Azan said. “In the third and fourth games, he attacked me more on the inside of the corners. In the third game, I was leading 9-1 and suddenly the game changed. By then he got his feeling and I didn’t have mine. In the fifth set, we both fought for it, but it ended up for me.”

On the other courts, Farhan Mehboob (Pak) was inches away from an upset of his own against New Zealand’s Paul Coll, two games up and leading well into the third until his racquet string broke, along with his focus. He came back with a lovely boast that would have fooled Coll had it not hit the tin. From then on, Coll owned the match, drawing out unforced error after error from the unraveling Mehboob. The decider was close, with the players sticking to basics and biding their time.