DEREK RYAN became the first victim of Jansher Khan's quest for a fifth successive British Open squash title in Cardiff last night. However, the Irish number one produced one of his best ever performances against the world champion.

In a match lasting 70 minutes, Ryan got off to a superb start, taking the first game 17-14. However, Khan began to squeeze enough errors out of the Dubliner to regain control. Even then, Ryan made the defending champion work hard for his victory, only losing the final games, 13-15, 13-15, 11-15.

Khan's path to the final was made all the more smooth yesterday when the number four and five seeds, Peter Nicol of Scotland and England's Del Harris, lost their first round matches to unseeded players. Ryan, meantime, turns his attention to next week's French Open, buoyed by one of the best displays of his career.