Al Arabi win Asian Club Championship

Abdulla al-Tamimi kept Qatar’s flag flying at the World Junior Squash Championships yesterday by sending Canada’s Joshua Sekhar packing in the second round at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. With a great deal of national pride and prestige riding on the world number seven after five Qatari players crashed out in the first round on Saturday, al-Tamimi survived a few jitters before winning 12-10, 11-4, 12-14, 11-3 in 37 minutes. The 17-year-old was clearly much superior but over-confidence often got him into trouble, especially in the first and third games when he attempted risky shots and lost points to allow Sekhar a whiff of a chance. The Canadian had the better of al-Tamimi in the initial exchanges, jumping to a 3-0 lead before the Qatari hit a purple patch to overtake him. A couple of deceptive drops had Sekhar struggling to cope as al-Tamimi unleashed a range of strokes to lead 10-5.A more experienced player would have finished off the game promptly, but al-Tamimi suddenly became erratic, finding the ‘tin’ on a couple of occasions allowing Sekhar to claw back. The Canadian won five points in a row to level at 10-10 before al-Tamimi retook control to go 1-0 up.However, after winning the second game rather easily, al-Tamimi’s suspect temperament came to the fore in the third. The Qatari appeared irritated at a few umpiring calls as Sekhar kept his nose ahead and even questioned the umpire a couple of times.The first time al-Tamimi took the lead in the game was when he went up 6-5. At 10-8, he briefly lost concentration, losing a point for failing to keep the ball up as Sekhar sensed a chance.The Canadian saved game ball three times before another ‘tin’ shot by the Qatari helped him win 14-12.In the fourth game, however al-Tamimi was in his element. He raced to a 5-1 lead giving Sekhar no chance whatsoever before clinching it at 10-4. “It was a tough match and I had to concentrate hard to beat him,” said al-Tamimi, who last month won the Dutch Open in the under-19 category. “But the match gave me a chance to test my abilities. You have to be prepared for everything in a tournament like the world championships,” said al-Tamimi who will now clash with Frenchman Alexandre Cogno in the third round. Meanwhile defending champion and world number one junior Marwan El Shorbagy had an easy outing in the second round, beating Guatemala’s Jose Rodriguez 11-2, 11-3, 11-4. El Shorbagy, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of his brother who won the event twice, will now face Canadian Cameron Seth in the third round today after Seth ousted New Zealand’s Jonathan Barnett 5-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-3.Pakistan’s Danish Atlas Khan, from whom much is expected, also progressed, defeating the USA’s Mason Ripka 11-6, 11-1, 11-3. India’s world number 5 Mangesh Mangaonkar also advanced, scoring an easy 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 win over Canada’s Zachary Leman. Meanwhile, in women’s competition, Egyptians Nour El Sherbini, Mariam Metwally, Kanzy El Dafrawy, Yathreb Adel and Salma Hany took a combined total of 87 minutes to reach the last sixteen. England’s Emily Whitlock and India’s Anaka Alankamony also advanced with easy wins, dropping just six points each, with American Maria Ubina rounding off the top eight.Finland’s Emilia Soini and Hong Kong’s Chen Uen Shan pulled off minor upsets against Nele Gilis and Jessica Turnbull respectively. from gulf times.