After defeating China’s Zinyuan Yin in the semi-finals on Monday night in Philadelphia, Mahnoor Ali of Pakistan advanced to the Under-13 final of the US Junior Open.
Ali defeated Yin 11-7, 11-5, but lost the third set 5-11. The 11-year-old advanced to the finals, where she will face Linda Elsayed of Egypt on Tuesday, after putting up a strong fourth set to win the match 12–10.
Elsayed defeated Alice Huang of the USA in straight sets, 11-9, 11-7, and 11-9, thanks to her unwavering play.
In a video message to Dawn.com, Ali acknowledged that she faced fierce competition and made more mistakes than she would have wanted, but she promised not to make the same ones in the final.
Earlier in the quarterfinal, which took place on Monday, Ali defeated the American 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 after losing the opening set 9-11 to Kaylee Li of the USA.
Nearly 1,200 athletes from over 40 countries have competed in the tournament, and the current Asian No. 2 has not lost.
Ali expressed gratitude to the BARD (Bilquis and Abdul Razzak Dawood) Foundation, her sponsors, for their year-round support.
