Egyptian | Pakistan

World junior champions Amina Orfi and Mohamad Zakaria cemented their status as one of the best squash players as they clinched the championship title at the Karachi Open on Sunday in front of a packed court that cheered on the two Egyptian teenagers on their path to victory. World number three Orfi was up against Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam, who she demolished 3-0 to take an expected victory with a scoreline of 11-8, 11-2, 11-7. “The final is never an easy match,” the 18-year-old said after her 38-minute match that saw her win her fourth title of the season. “Me and Siva have played several times this season, I know how dangerous she is; I just have to prepare in this sport very well. “Thanks to the fans for supporting us, they’ve built the atmosphere and it made me happy to see the crowd here today cheering for both of us,” Orfi said. View this post on Instagram Her compatriots stayed true to saving the best for last as Zakaria and Aly Abou Eleinen put on a show for the crowd in a dazzling 100-minute ...

Tempers flared and expletives were hurled across the squash court faster than the ball as Egyptian squash player Fares Dessouky got into a heated argument with the referee and abandoned the match in the fifth game, which automatically allowed Pakistan’s Noor Zaman to advance to the quarterfinal of the Karachi Open. Home favourite Noor was Pakistan’s last hope to make it to the quarterfinals after Ashab Irfan and Nasir Iqbal were eliminated from the tournament earlier in the day. Noor was two sets down as Dessouky took the first two games 11-8, 11-9. View this post on Instagram Tensions had been building throughout the match, with Dessouky in the second game questioning how the score had reached 6-4 when it should have been 5-4. Spectators and international athletes alike, as well as squash icon Jahangir Khan sitting front row to the action, murmured that the score should be 5-4. Dessouky took the second game as Noor’s coach gave him a pep talk that ostensibly helped him win the third game 11-5. Dessouky, curr...

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, where the two discussed “defence and security cooperation, military exchanges, training collaborations and regional peace and stability”, a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday. Abdelatty arrived in Islamabad last night for a two-day official visit and also met President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar earlier today. The FO statement said during his meeting with Field Marshal Munir, “both sides reaffirmed the importance of continued high-level engagement between the armed forces of the two countries”. Egyptian FM meets Zardari Abdelatty also called on President Zardari at Aiwan-i-Sadr today. A statement by the President’s Secretariat said Zardari told the Egyptian FM that “Pakistan values its longstanding ties with Egypt, which are rooted in shared faith and mutual respect, and looks forward to advancing the relationship in a more structured...