Nafiizwan’s world championship run ends

PETALING JAYA: National No. 2 squash player Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan’s run at the Men’s World Championship ended in the second round as seeded players started to fall.

Playing in the top half of the draw in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, world No. 34 Nafiizwan was no match for world No. 2 Gregory Gaultier as he fell to a 4-11, 7-11, 3-11 defeat.

The 28-year old Nafiizwan played a good attacking game and kept his error count low but the top seeded Frenchman was a different player after struggling in the first round.

Gaultier, who is still seeking a first world title, sealed his place in the third round in just 31 minutes. He will take on ninth seed Omar Mosaad of Egypt, who defeated compatriot Karim Ali Fathi, for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I was so mad at myself after the poor performance in the first round and today I moved much better and found better accuracy,” said Gaultier.

“I’m still getting used to the court and I’m having a little jetlag but there is a lot of positives in my game. At the end of the day, what matters is I won.”

Meanwhile, unseeded Australian Cameron Pilley scored the biggest upset of the day, sending seventh seed and world No. 8 Peter Barker of England packing with a hard fought 12-10, 11-6, 9-11, 6-11, 11-5 win in 85 minutes.

The 32-year-old Pilley will face Botswana’s Alister Walker in the third round. Walker also notched an upset by beating 16th seed Mathieu Castagnet of France 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4 in the second round.

The third and final upset of the day came via Egyptian youngster Fares Dessouki, who beat compatriot and 13th seed Marwan El Shorbagy 11-9, 11-2, 11-9.