Karachi: Lahore based Yasir Butt failed to qualify for the main rounds of CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championship as he lost to Australian Wade Johnstone in final qualifying round in Kuala Lumpur.

The world No. 40, Yasir dropped the first game 11-9 againsthis lower-ranked opponent but bounced back into the match winning the next two games 11-8, 11-7 to take a 2-1 lead.

But the Aussie was not in a mood to let the match go off his hands so easily and the won the fourth game 11-7 to equalize the score-line. Wade in the fifth and decisive set prevailed after a tough contest, winning 12-10 to make it to the main rounds.

However, there are two Pakistani players in the main rounds of the event — 6th seed Mansoor Zaman — ranked 33rd and 7th seed Farhan Mehboob — ranked 32nd in the world circuit.

Meanwhile, there was surprise local success in the qualifying finals when KL-based Muhammad Asyraf Azan battled for 86 minutes to overcome Australian Ryan Cuskelly 6-11, 11-1, 11-9, 15-17, 11-8.

Ranked 157 in the world — and a successful qualifier in the event for the fourth time since 2004 — 19-year-old Azan will face fellow countryman Ong Beng Hee, the second seed who became the eventís first home champion in 2000.