At the HEAD Danish Junior Open in Denmark on Sunday, Mahnoor Ali won the Under-13 title with a bittersweet victory over her sister Sehrish.
The 11-year-old dominated the championship match, defeating Sehrish 11-3, 11-3, and 11-2 to earn gold in three straight sets.
“This is a big tournament, so it’s a big achievement for me,” Mahnoor said in a video message that Dawn.com obtained.
It was difficult to play against my sister in the end. We both train the same, and she plays really well, but whomever plays better wins,” a jubilant Mahnoor declared.
She expressed gratitude to the BARD (Bilquis and Abdul Razzak Dawood) Foundation, her sponsors, for their assistance. She remarked, “I hope they continue to support me because they enable me to achieve this title.”
Sehrish blamed “bad luck” for her defeat but promised to work harder in her training going forward.
Mahnoor defeated Bulgaria’s Bozhana Bozhilova 11-3, 11-4, 11-0 in the semifinals, and Sehrish easily advanced to the championship match after taking down Poland’s Hania Górecka 11-4, 16-14, 11-7.
In the third round on Friday, Mahnoor had also triumphed over Górecka, winning 11-4, 11-2, and 11-4 with ease. She didn’t lose any games during the competition.
In the U-13 division, the squash prodigy holds the top spot in Asia, while Sehrish comes in at number 12.
Mehwish, the older sister of the pair and the top-ranked player in Pakistan’s U-19 and open divisions, defeated Ruby Huisman of the Netherlands 11-4, 11-7, and 11-8 to win U-17 bronze in Denmark.
Mahoor’s father told Dawn.com that her victory at the Danish Junior Open marks her sixth international championship.
A squash final featuring only Pakistani players was previously staged by the younger Ali sisters.
Mahnoor won the Under-13 title at the PBA 20th Penang Malaysia Junior Open in June. After falling to Sehrish 9–11 in the opening set, she rallied to win the next three games, 11–7, 11–8, and 11–8.
Mahnoor won the Australian Junior Open’s U-13 division earlier in April, with Sehrish taking home the bronze. Mehwish, the eldest sister of the pair, won the U-17 championship.
Asim Khan, an outsider, wins the Charlottesville Open
Asim Khan, meanwhile, defeated Nick Wall of England on Saturday to win the Charlottesville Open final and earn his first-ever PSA Tour World events title.
According to a press statement from the Professional Squash Association, the 27-year-old, who had never advanced past the quarterfinals of a world-level event before, nearly lost in the first round before rallying from a two-game deficit to defeat Diego Gobbi of Brazil.
The top-ranked player in Pakistan fell to the reigning champion Wall 14–12 in the opening set, but he rallied to win the next three sets 12–10, 11–5, and 11–6 to seal the victory.
“It was not what I had anticipated. I have been playing squash for the past four or five years, and throughout that time I have had a lot of difficulty and have not won any matches in major competitions.
Thus, this is something more, a significant thing for me. He said, “I’m happy to have achieved one of my goals and hopefully I’ll win more bigger tournaments in the future,” according to a news statement from PSA.
Khan, who is now rated 72 in the world, was not seeded going into this competition.
In the semi-final, Khan defeated Cesar Salazar of Mexico 11-5, 11-5, 11-4, and easily advanced to the final on Friday.
He gave his family credit for “supporting me throughout my career in good and bad times” in a post on X. Zindabad, Pakistan.
The PSA states that Khan will participate in the November London Open.
A total of $28,750 was up for grabs in the PSA World Tour Copper event, Charlottesville Open.
