Mahnoor Ali took home a bittersweet victory on Sunday when she defeated her sister Sehrish to clinch the Under-13 title at the HEAD Danish Junior Open in Denmark.
The 11-year-old dominated the final to win gold in three straight sets, thrashing Sehrish 11-3, 11-3, 11-2.
“I’m very happy because this is a major tournament, it’s a big achievement for me,” Mahnoor said in a video message shared with Dawn.com.
“Playing against my sister was a tough final. She plays really well, and we both train the same, but whoever plays better, wins,” an elated Mahnoor said.
She thanked her sponsors, the BARD (Bilquis and Abdul Razzak Dawood) Foundation, for their support. “I get to achieve this title because of them, and I hope they support me further,” she said.
Sehrish chalked up her loss to “bad luck” but said she’d train harder for next time.
In the semi-finals, Mahnoor beat Bulgaria’s Bozhana Bozhilova 11-3, 11-4, 11-0, while Sehrish stormed into the final after defeating Poland’s Hania Górecka 11-4, 16-14, 11-7.
Mahnoor had also defeated Górecka on Friday in the third round, cruising to an easy victory with 11-4, 11-2, 11-4. She remained undefeated throughout the tournament.
The squash prodigy is ranked number 1 in Asia in the U-13 category, while Sehrish is ranked number 12.
The duo’s elder sister Mehwish — ranked number 1 in Pakistan in the U-19 and open categories — won bronze in Denmark after defeating Ruby Huisman of the Netherlands 11-4, 11-7, 11-8.
Mahoor’s win at the Danish Junior Open is her sixth international title, her father confirmed to Dawn.com.
The younger Ali sisters have put up an all-Pakistan squash final previously as well.
In June, Mahnoor was crowned the Under-13 champion at the PBA 20th Penang Malaysia Junior Open. She stormed back from losing the first set to Sehrish 9-11 to win the next three games 11-7, 11-8, 11-8.
Earlier in April, Mahnoor took home the U-13 title at the Australian Junior Open, while Sehrish settled for bronze. The duo’s eldest sister, Mehwish, took home the U-17 title.
Unseeded Asim Khan wins Charlottesville Open
Meanwhile, Asim Khan won stormed to victory in the Charlottesville Open final to clinch his maiden PSA Tour World events title as he defeated England’s Nick Wall on Saturday.
The 27-year-old came into this event having never gone beyond the quarter-finals of a world-level event before, and nearly went out in round one, fighting back from two games down to beat Brazil’s Diego Gobbi, according to a press release by the Professional Squash Association.
The Pakistan number 1 lost the first set 14-12 to defending champion Wall before going all-out to clinch the title with 12-10, 11-5, 11-6 in the next three sets.
“I didn’t expect any of this. I’ve been playing squash for the last few years – four or five years — and I was struggling a lot, not winning any matches in big tournaments like this.
“So, this is something else, something big for me. It was one of my goals and I’m very happy to achieve that, and hopefully in the future I’ll win more bigger tournaments,” the PSA press release quoted him as saying.
Khan was unseeded headed into this tournament, but is otherwise ranked 72 in the world.
On Friday, Khan cruised to the final after beating Mexico’s Cesar Salazar 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 in the semi-final.
In a post on X, he credited his family “who have supported me throughout my career in good and bad times. Pakistan zindabad.”
Khan is slated to play at the London Open in November, according to the PSA.
The Charlottesville Open, a PSA World Tour Copper event, had a total prize pool of $28,750.
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