California, 22 October, 2026 (Ghufran): Pakistan’s squash player Noor Zaman produced an impressive performance on Wednesday, defeating defending champion and world No. 4 Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad 3–1 to reach the quarter-finals of the PSA Gold Silicon Valley Open in California, United States. The 22-year-old Pakistani beat the second-seeded Egyptian 11–9, 11–7, 9–11, 11–6 in a 52-minute encounter. Following his victory at the men’s tournament, which offers a total prize purse of $143,500, Noor said he was mentally and physically prepared and believed it was time to start beating the world’s top players. Ranked among the world’s top 35 players, Noor had earlier advanced to the pre-quarter-finals by defeating American wildcard Bransten Ming 3–1. After losing the opening game 3–11, the Pakistani staged a strong comeback, winning the next three games 11–5, 11–8 and 11–9. Hailing from Peshawar, Noor is the grandson of former world champion Qamar Zaman and the 2025 World Under-23 champion. His recent performances have shown significant improvement, bringing him close to the world’s top 30 and helping him secure five Professional Squash Association titles. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Mohammad Ashab Irfan was eliminated after losing 0–3 to fifth-seeded Egyptian Mohamed ElShorbagy in the pre-quarter-finals. Irfan had reached the round after defeating Hungary’s Balazs Farkas 11–6, 11–4 and 11–5. The PSA World Tour Gold event offers equal prize money in the men’s and women’s competitions. Squash is also preparing to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games, a milestone expected to further raise the sport’s global profile.