Karachi Open 2026 : It’s Amina and Mohamad !!

Finals : World Junior Champs Orfi & Zakaria take the titles

World Junior Champions Mohamad Zakaria and Amina Orfi  lifted the Rich Venus Karachi Open  titles after claiming  wins over Aly Abou Eleinen and Sivasangari Subramaniam at DA Creek Club.

World #11 Zakaria captured the biggest title of his career after outlasting Egyptian compatriot Eleinen in an epic 100-minute men’s final, eventually prevailing by a 9-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7 scoreline.

“I’m speechless. To win a Gold event at 18 years old, it’s surreal. The match was crazy. Aly played so well against me in the first three-and-a-half games, but then I noticed a physical drop-off or something hurting him. I hope it’s nothing big.

“It was a big confidence boost today to win in five. I started the fifth game and didn’t feel too tired – I felt fresh. I just feel happy that all the hard work I’ve been putting in behind the curtains is paying off.”

World #3 Orfi powered through to her fourth title of the season after defeating second seed Sivasangari in straight games.

 “I’m so happy to get through the match in three games today. The past few days, I wasn’t really playing my best, but today I think I played my best. I played the squash I’ve been training for during the short off-season break.

“I know that I have won Gold titles this year, and winning another one to start the New Year. It will give me a push going into busy months in January and February with two Platinum events in America. Hopefully, I can win those as well.”

This week’s performances will see Zakaria move into the top ten in the PSA World Rankings next Monday, with the 18-year-old becoming the third-youngest male player to achieve this feat in history, only behind legendary duo Jahangir and Jansher Khan.

Semis : Zakaria & beat former World Champions to reach finals

World #11 Mohamad Zakaria and World #14 Aly Abou Eleinen advanced to their maiden Gold-level finals  after overcoming former World Champions Karim Gawad and Mohamed ElShorbagy on semi-finals day at the Rich Venus Karachi Open.

Zakaria came into his meeting with top seed Gawad on the back of three straight defeats against the World #4, the last of which was a well-contested five-game loss in the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open.  However, the two-time World Junior Champion reversed the form book with a near-faultless performance which limited the attacking prowess of Gawad.

“I lost to Gawad the last three times I played him. I watched back some of those matches today and something clicked. I knew what I was going to do and I’m so happy with how it turned out.
“The last four times, he was pinning me down the backhand wall. He was always taking a further step down the ‘T’ and I was having to take the big line around him. Today I tried to hit it tight and move beside him, so if he was going to do that, I would be right next to him. Today, my counter game was so good.

“It’s so difficult to play against Karim. He has so many gears to shift to. I’m still a bit in disbelief at how well my plan turned out.”

Sixth seed Eleinen defeated former  ElShorbagy in commanding style, overcoming ‘The Beast’ by an 11-4, 11-8, 11-6 scoreline.

In the women’s draw, No.2 seed Sivasangari Subramaniam and top seed Amina Orfi set up a title-deciding showdown after defeating Aifa Azman and Nada Abbas, respectively.

World #7 Sivasangari was given a stern examination by compatriot Azman throughout their 58 minutes on court, with the pair trading games to reach a decider. After seeing a match ball slip through her grasp at the backend of the fourth, Sivasangari regained her composure impressively to eventually prevail past the eighth seed by an 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-5 scoreline.

“I knew Aifa was going to come in strong today, especially after beating Fayrouz in three yesterday. She did the same thing today and put me under a lot of pressure.

“I couldn’t quite find my game, but I just tried to stick in and play it point by point and not overthink it. I just tried to stay as composed as I could, and I’m glad that I did – it worked out in the end. It was a bit more comfortable at the backend of the fifth game because I managed to get a bit more of a lead on the scoreboard.”

In the first match of the day World #3 Amina Orfi eased past an under-the-weather Nada Abbas to reach her sixth final of the 2025/26 PSA Squash Tour season.

 

Quarters #2 : Elshorbagy holds off Zaman comeback as Aifa ousts Fayrouz

Mohamed ElShorbagy held off an inspired comeback from Pakistan #1 Noor Zaman to clinch a five-game thriller and advance to the semi-finals of the Rich Venus Karachi Open, where he’ll face Aly Abou Eleinen who yesterday beat Mohamed’s brother Marwan.

“I felt quite comfortable in the first two games, maybe he got caught up with the stage a little bit,” ElShorbagy said. “Definitely, the vibe of the match changed at the start of the third game. He started motivating himself. He was like a train – it was really hard to stop him.

“Of course, I did doubt myself. I haven’t won tough matches like this in a while. So to get a win is great. I’m just really glad to get through and to be into the semis.”

Fifth seed Mohamad Zakaria was the other men’s winner on day four after he put Hong Kong’s Alex Lau to the sword with a clinical 29-minute victory to set up a semi-final showdown with top seed Karim Abdel Gawad.

In the women’s event World #33 Aifa Azman claimed one of the biggest wins of her career as she stunned third seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir to reach her maiden Gold-level semi-final.

:“I don’t know how to describe my feelings right now! I’m just so thankful for my team and my family. I’m so happy to win 3-0 this time. My sister and I have both seen each other go through our ups and downs with injuries. So I’m just happy that we are starting 2026 really well – she made the quarter-final as well – but I’m really happy I got one step further than her! I’m really grateful for all her support and I’m proud of both of us.”

Azman will face fellow Malaysian Sivasangari Subramaniam in the semi-finals, after the second seed overcame a slow start to defeat England’s Lucy Turmel.

Quarters  #1 :  Eleinen Powers second seed Marwan to reach semis

Aly Abou Eleinen claimed his biggest scalp of the season after a dominant performance saw him defeat second seed Marwan ElShorbagy at the Rich Venus Karachi Open 2026.

Eleinen, who has had his battles with injuries over the last 12 months, looked back to his best on the all-glass court at DA Creek Club, with the Egyptian racing through to the semi-finals of the Gold-level event by an 11-7, 11-1, 11-9 scoreline.

“In my preparation for the match, I just wanted to focus on me. The whole season, I have just tried to focus on myself, and if I can do this against Marwan, it’s a good sign because he’s such a good player. I’m really pleased with that performance today.

Top seed Karim Abdel Gawad was the other winner in the men’s draw on day three, as he battled past Malaysian #1 Eain Yow Ng in a testing three-game clash.

In the women’s event top seed Amina Orfi and Nada Abbas set up a semi-final tie after coming through their encounters with Aira Azman and Farida Mohamed.

Round Two : Gawad and Aboelkheir survive as Zaman keeps home hopes alive

Top seed Karim Abdel Gawad and third  seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir narrowly avoided shock exits,  coming through nervy five-game encounters at the Gold-level event in Karachi.

Gawad, who with victory this week, will overtake World No.3 Diego Elias in the PSA Rankings, battled back to defeat Pakistan’s Muhammad Ashab Irfan in five games, while Aboelkheir edged past Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk in a thrilling fifth-game tie-break.

“I’m really happy to get through to the quarters today,” said Gawad, who was 2-5 down in the decider. “Irfan was my training partner when I was in Houston, staying there for the full summer in 2023, so I knew how tough it was going to be today.”

Meanwhile on the same court where she was crowned U23 World Champion last April, Aboelkheir came through an entertaining five-game clash with the unseeded Chan, saving match ball at 10-11 in the fifth.

Elsewhere Hong Kong’s Alex Lau advanced to his first Gold-event quarter-final after overcoming an injury-hampered Youssef Ibrahim in five games, setting up a tie with World Junior Champion Mohamad Zakaria.

Pakistan’s Noor Zaman remains the sole home hope left in the event, following a contentious ending to his matchup with No.8 seed Fares Dessouky. The Pakistani No.1 led 7-3 in the fifth game before a debate between Dessouky and the match referee ended in a conduct match being awarded in Zaman’s favour.

WSO-OFFICIAL-STATEMENT-09.01.2026

Pakistan Press about Fares/Noor Quarters:
controversial ending

 

Round One : Home trio advance in Karachi

Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal, Noor Zaman and Muhammad Ashab Irfan took centre stage on the opening day of the Rich Venus Karachi Open 2026, scoring a trio of home wins to advance to the second round.

Wildcard Iqbal and Pakistan #1 Zaman claimed respective five-game wins over Moustafa Elsirty and Melvil Scianimanico to delight the home crowds within DA Creek Club, while Ashab Irfan raced past Ryunosuke Tsukue in three games.

World #134 Iqbal has enjoyed a wealth of success on home soil throughout his career, with 11 of his 18 PSA Tour titles coming in Pakistan – and the 31-year-old continued this strong record after battling back from two games down to defeat World #45 Elsirty.

After setting up a tie with fifth seed Mohamad Zakaria, Iqbal said:

It was a really great match today. It was so supportive playing in front of a home crowd. Events like this will be so good for the younger generation of players.

“In the first two games, I was a bit slow in the midcourt, and after going 2-0 down, I got told to push Moustafa to the back two corners because he’s so tall. When I pushed him back, it gave me some room and allowed me to play in short.”

Meanwhile 21-year-old Zaman got the better of fellow up-and-coming star Scianimanico in a topsy-turvy five-game duel. Despite dropping two games in a mid-match slump, the World No.38 recovered to seal an 11-9, 10-12, 3-11, 11-6, 11-6 win.

In the women’s draw, England’s Torrie Malik claimed the standout win after battling back from two games down to advance past Egypt’s Menna Hamed.

Despite spurning game balls in both the opening games, World #42 Malik rallied in impressive style, fighting back to defeat the World No.52 by a 13-15, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 scoreline.