KARACHI: Pakistan secured a spot in the final of the Asian Doubles Squash Championship after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Malaysia in the semifinals on Wednesday.

The Pakistani pair of Noor Zaman and Nasir Iqbal overcame Malaysia’s Syafiq Kamal and Duncan Lee in a tense three-game match, with scores of 10-11, 11-9 and 11-9. The closely contested semifinal lasted one hour and eight minutes.

The Pakistani duo had advanced to the semifinals on Tuesday with a strong performance, defeating the Korean pair of Jiang Min Ryu and Jaijin Yoo in a thrilling 2-1 encounter in the quarterfinals.

As the second seed in the championship, Pakistan has displayed a remarkable form throughout the tournament with back-to-back wins over the Philippines and South Korea in the group stage on Monday.

They dispatched the Filipino pair with ease, winning 11-7 and 11-4, and followed it up with a commanding performance against the Koreans.

For the unversed, Zaman had earlier exited the Asian Individual Squash Championship following a narrow defeat in his pre-quarterfinal match.

Pakistan will now face archrival and top-seed India in the championship final. India’s Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar await in what promises to be a high-stakes showdown.