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After suffering a shock defeat in the final qualifying round in the
22nd Men’s World Team Squash Championship in the Danish city of Odense
, former champions Pakistan powered back into contention by beating
higher-seeded Malaysia to earn a surprise place in the quarter-finals
of the World Squash Federation event
Farhan Mehboob showed the class that has marked him out as a future world-beater by beating Malaysia’s world No19 Ong Beng Hee 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 11-5 in 51 minutes to put the sixth seeds into the lead.
Mohd Azlan Iskandar then levelled the tie for Malaysia, the No5 seeds, when Pakistan’s top player Aamir Atlas Khan retired injured after two games.
The decider saw a dramatic battle between Yasir Butt, the world No48 from Lahore, and Malaysian Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan, ranked 15 places lower. Adnan took the opening game, but Butt battled back to win the match 7-11, 11-2, 12-10, 11-9 after 57 minutes to ensure an improvement on their ninth place finish last time.
Six times champions Pakistan will face Australia - winner of the world title a record eight times after the third seeds had a straightforward 3-0 win over Ireland. After losing his first ever match for his country 24 hours earlier, Australian number one David Palmer was back to his best to beat Australian-born Irishman Liam Kenny in straight games.
In other matches, Italy is another team making great waves in the 2009 championship: From a best-ever 16th finish in 1991, the revitalised squad made it into the quarter-finals for the first time with an impressive 2-1 win over former runners-up New Zealand.
Unranked former Englishman Marcus Berrett, one of two new additions to the Italian squad, defied current form by overcoming world-ranked Kiwi Campbell Grayson 11-13, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5 in a 71-minute battle. New Zealand’s Pakistan origin number one Kashif Shuja brought the 10th seeds back into contention after another five-game clash, edging out Italian number one Davide Bianchetti after 68 minutes.
But Italy’s hero of the day was Amr Swelim, a former Egyptian who switched allegiance to the European nation early in the year. The 25-year-old played the game of his life to beat experienced Martin Knight 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 to claim Italy’s place in the last eight.
The eighth seeds will face second seeds England after the defending champions - without the services of top string Nick Matthew, who is sidelined following an ankle injury - eased to a 2-1 win over outsiders Kuwait. Peter Barker and James Willstrop were England’s victors, with wins over Salem Fayez Mohammed and Abdullah Almezayen, respectively.
Seventh seeds Canada, boosted by the return from retirement of the nation’s most distinguished player Jonathon Power, reached the quarter-finals for the eighth time in a row with a 3-0 win over Scotland. But 35-year-old Power, from Montreal, had to call upon all his experience to fight off a spirited challenge from Alan Clyne to beat the Scottish number one 11-5, 11-8, 3-11, 6-11, 11-2 in 63 minutes.
Canada will move on to face Egypt after the favourites despatched 15th seeds Germany 3-0. Another team fielding a former stalwart of the PSA World Tour is South Africa. Buoyed by their unexpected pool win over Pakistan, the 11th seeds beat USA, seeded one place below, 2-1 to make the last eight for the first time since 2001.
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