Pakistan, May 9 -- Pakistan's Noor Zaman made a confident start to the CIB Palm Hills PSA World Championships 2026, grinding out a hard-fought five-game victory over Egypt's Adam Hawal in the first round to advance to the last 32 in Cairo on Friday.

The World No. 28 Pakistani showed tremendous grit and resilience on the Egyptian courts, edging a closely contested 55-minute battle 11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 to claim a memorable win. Despite Hawal pushing him to five games, Zaman kept his composure in the deciding set to seal a commanding 3-2 triumph and secure his place in the second round.

Zaman will next face either Muhammad Zakaria or Marwan Mahmoud Assal of Egypt in the second round, in what promises to be another stern test on hom...