On Sunday, the PSF sent an eight-member initial list to the World Squash Federation (WSF) which included Asian champion Aamir Atlas Khan, Farhan Mehboob, Nasir Iqbal, Danish Atlas Khan, Sheikh Saqib Yousuf, Farhan Zaman, Mansoor Zaman and Tayyab Aslam. The PSF requested an extension till May 24 so that it can shortlist a final four-man squad.

The trio of Aamir, Mehboob and Nasir wanted exemption from the trials stating that they had done well in recent events and needed time to recover from fatigue. On their insistence, the PSF extended the trials so they could regain fitness and give their best in the trials. However, Marwat said there was no chance a player, regardless of his stature, would be granted an exemption.

“No one will be given exemption,” Marwat told The Express Tribune. “If any player fails to appear in the trials, be it Aamir or Mehboob, he will not be selected for the mega event. Only those who undergo trials will be considered.”

The official added that no one was above the game and the federation will not bow down to any pressure tactics.

“We’ve taken a decision to hold the trials and will not step back because we cannot set a bad precedent by bowing under pressure. There is a proper system in place and everyone will have to go through that.”

Aamir returns to Peshawar

It has been learnt that Aamir left for Peshawar since he was not keen on appearing in the trials as he is still recovering from an adductor injury.

When his father Atlas Khan was contacted, he confirmed the development. “Yes Amir is coming back because he is recovering from injury. The ball is in the PSF’s court. If it wants his services, they will include him in the team as his case is genuine.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2013.

KARACHI: Forced to announce the squad, the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) hastily named an eight-member list for the upcoming World Team Championship to be held in Paris.

The World Squash Federaion (WSF), not pleased with Pakistan’s attitude, conveyed the message loud and clear —announce the squad if you want to participate in the tournament.

The development, however, clearly demonstrates the ill-planning on part of the PSF after it had already sought an extension to name the squad and needed another reminder to meet the deadline.

Even the warning did not budge the PSF much as it then decided to name an eight-man list – Aamir Atlas Khan, Farhan Mehboob, Nasir Iqbal, Danish Atlas, Sheikh Saqib, Farhan Zaman, Mansoor Zaman and Tayyab Aslam – and requested the WSF for another extension.

The chaotic condition arose after Aamir and Mehboob requested exemption from trials to select the squad.

With the PSF bent upon staging the trials for everyone, the deadlock led to the delay with trials now due to be held from May 21.

“The situation hasn’t been as chaotic as it is right now,” a PSF official told The Express Tribune.

“We’ve made ourselves a laughing stock in dealing with such a small issue. Aamir and Mehboob are Pakistan’s best players — they could’ve been given exempted.”

The PSF Executive Committee’s decision to hold trials comes due to Qamar Zaman pushing for the selection of his son Mansoor Zaman, according to reports.

It should be mentioned here that this saga has also created disharmony among the federation’s officials.

A PSF official said it was time for Razi Nawab, the federation’s senior vice-president, to make a statement that outlines a clear-cut policy of the body.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2013.

The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) had already requested an extension from the World Squash Federation (WSF) to announce their team by May 18 in order to hold trials to select four players to go to France. However, owing to a deadlock between the federation and the players meant that no team was finalised before the deadline.

The Express Tribune earlier reported that in case no trials were held, the PSF will have to name their squad on the basis of the players’ rankings.

According to the current rankings, Pakistan’s four-member squad should include Aamir Atlas Khan, Farhan Mehboob, Nasir Iqbal and either Danish Atlas Khan or Farhan Zaman.

Earlier, senior players Aamir and Farhan had objected against appearing for trials, stating that their skills and experience formed the basis for their exemption.

However, with all deadlines violated, the WSF has been left unimpressed by Pakistan’s indecision.

“The WSF has asked the PSF to make it clear whether they want to send their team or not by tomorrow,” an official close to the matter told The Express Tribune. “The world body is not happy that it has taken so long for Pakistan to send their final team details. The PSF has to act quickly otherwise the team will not be able to participate if the deadline passes. This has emerged as an embarrassing situation but it would become even more embarrassing if we fail to send our team because of such a petty issue.”

‘PSF should act quickly’

One of the players, who is expected to be included in the four-member national squad for the world championship, said that the PSF must act swiftly in order to avoid any controversy which could bring a bad name to Pakistan.

“The PSF should find an amicable solution quickly, otherwise it could create a controversy,” he said. “We’ll also miss one of the most important events in squash and that would be a huge blow for us.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2013.

KARACHI: Several organisers and cricketers depend on Ramazan to make extra money off night-match events, but their plans are likely to take a hit with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) mulling staging an inter-departmental T20 event during the month.

The board is organising a tournament that is likely to run for more than three weeks, leaving a very small window for others to stage an event during the month.

It has been learnt that if the PCB-planned event is held, players will be barred from taking part in any other tournament in Ramazan. Top events that are usually held during this time include the MA Shah Night Trophy, Karachi Gymkhana T20 event, RLCA Ramazan Cup and the Vital Five Tournament.

Players who take part in these events are paid a reasonable amount, which adds to their monthly salary given by their departmental teams.

However, with the PCB pondering staging an event of its own, departmental team players are left with no choice and will miss out on the extra ‘pocket money’.

“The PCB intends to organise a top-class departmental T20 tournament in Ramadan,” a top PCB official told The Express Tribune. “We’re working on finalising the details but so far, I can say that it will run for 23 days. We’ve received feedback that other T20 tournaments are really short. It seems like when the public starts to take an interest, the tournament finishes — this is why our event will have a longer duration.”

Former Test cricketer Moin Khan organised a Corporate T20 Cup last year, featuring top departments including HBL, NBP, PQA, UBL.

It needs to be mentioned that the PCB barred the national squad from taking part in any tournament in Ramazan ahead of the World Twenty20 last year.

In addition, the PCB also tried to keep an eye on all tournaments in order to keep the game ‘clean’ and organisers were left waiting for NOCs  despite sending all the details of their event.

While the PCB’s stance may have been justified earlier, an organiser said this time the board is going ‘too far’. “The PCB dented our events last year and fans didn’t bother showing up since top players did not take part,” said the organiser. “This time they’re going too far. If they want to arrange a tournament it’s their call. But they shouldn’t bar all the departmental players from taking part in other tournaments.”

The organiser’s call came after the PCB official stated that all departmental players would be barred from taking part in any other event. “If we go ahead with our event, then certainly departmental players will not be allowed to appear in any other competition,” the official added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2013.

KARACHI: With the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) set to form the new government, hopes have been raised for a better future for sports in Pakistan.

In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, squash legend and PML-N official Qamar Zaman said he has plans in place that will help revive sports in the country.

“I’ve closely witnessed the rise and fall of sports in Pakistan,” said Zaman. “There was a time when we used to rule the world in squash, cricket, hockey and snooker. I aim to help our players bring back those days. I’ve got vast experience that spreads across nearly four decades and would like to utilise it for the betterment of not just squash but other sports in Pa  kistan as well.”

The 61-year-old added that he would soon meet the party leaders to discuss the plans of the development of sports, stating he was eyeing an important post in Pakistan’s sports structure which would allow him to make key decisions.

The official hoped that the country’s image will improve under the new government and Pakistan will once again be able to host all major high-profile sporting events.

“Pakistan has suffered a lot in the last five years but we’re hopeful that things will change and our deprived fans will be able to see national and international stars embrace the stadiums again.”

Zaman revealed that he had already discussed the possibility of building a sports village in Abbottabad.

“I’ve told the party leadership how building a sports village in Abbottabad could contribute towards the uplifting of sports.”

He added that if his party could provide top sports facilities in the terror-prone K-P province, terrorism was likely to decrease in the trouble-ridden regions.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2013.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has postponed trials to select a four-member team for the upcoming World Team Championship till May 18 in order to provide recovery time to the players.

There was a deadlock between senior players – Aamir Atlas Khan and Farhan Mehboob – and the PSF as the duo wanted exemption from the trials, while the federation’s executive committee made it mandatory for everyone to go through the selection process.

Aamir was crowned the Asian champion after recovering from an injury, while Farhan wanted to be exempted as well.

“The trials will now be held on May 19 or 20 so that players can recover from fatigue,” PSF Secretary Abdul Wahab Marwat told The Express Tribune. “It’s obvious that players have gotten tired because they were involved in a gruelling month-long training camp in Abbottabad and then appeared in the Asian Individual Championship that took its toll.”

He stressed that everyone needed to respect the PSF’s decision and appear in the selection process.

Players agree

It has been learnt that the trio of Aamir, Farhan and Nasir Iqbal, who wanted exemption as well, has agreed to participate in the trails after a lengthy meeting with PSF Senior Vice-President Air Vice Marshal Razi Nawab.

“We will appear in the trials just because of Razi otherwise we had decided to opt out of the event,” one of the players said. “It’s sad that Razi, Wahab and national coach Jamshed Gul all wanted to give us exemption but the executive committee was against it. All of this to give their blue-eyed boys a chance.”

According to reports, PSF already sought an extension to finalise their squad for the world championship. The initial date for finalising of squads set by the World Squash Federation (WSF) was May 9. An extension to Pakistan was already given with May 18 as the deadline. However, with the trials now due to be held on May 19 or later, it is highly unlikely that the selection process will take place at all.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2013.

KARACHI: The final stage of trials for the upcoming World Team Championship in France next month was postponed as the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) was unable to finalise a format.

The initial trials had already been conducted among lower-ranked players from which Sheikh Saqib Yousuf, Farhan Zaman, Tayyab Aslam and Mansoor Zaman qualified. They are now supposed to compete against top players Aamir Atlas Khan, Farhan Mehboob, Nasir Iqbal and Danish Atlas.

While the trails were scheduled to start yesterday, the day ended in a meeting among PSF officials who could not finalise the format for the final trials — a lengthy discussion also took place about the exemption of Aamir and Farhan.

Both Aamir, the Asian champion, and Farhan have asked to be exempted as they believe their seniority and experience justifies their place in the team without the trials.

“The PSF is still pondering over how to conduct these final trials,” a PSF official told The Express Tribune. “No decision has been taken on whether to exempt the top players from the trials or not. We want to avoid any controversy leading up to the world championship and we also don’t want a deadlock between the players and the PSF. Thus, an executive meeting might be called upon.”

The top players are also irked over the fact that Mansoor Zaman, who is the son of former world champion Qamar Zaman, never gave trials when he was Pakistan number one, while his cousin Shahid Zaman was exempted as well.

But Qamar, who is also PSF’s vice president, has insisted that everyone would have to appear in the trials as the PSF was not going to go by previously applied double standards.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2013.

KARACHI: While a new democratic government will come into power soon, many sports athletes are still waiting for rewards promised by the previous one.

Election fever gripped the country yesterday as millions headed to polling stations hoping for change, but some sportsmen lamented the past which promised much, but bore little fruit.

Some were rewarded by the former federal and provincial governments for their stellar performances, but there are several others who have not received what they were promised.

Snooker cueist Mohammad Asif, who became only the second Pakistani to be crowned the IBSF world champion last year, was not rewarded for his performance, despite former Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah, Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa sports minister announcing Rs1 million reward each.

Former Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijrani was also supposed to award Asif Rs10 million as per the policy of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

A Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) official close to Asif said the player has been let down and feels the purpose of the announcements was to earn political points.

“It’s sad that these officials announce cash awards but never give them,” the PBSA official told The Express Tribune. “We’ll do whatever we can to get his due reward from the sports ministry or the PSB. But Asif won’t be able to get awards announced by the former ministers. This isn’t a good example set by our politicians who make bogus promises. This discourages the sportsmen and needs to be noticed.”

In a similar case, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had also announced cash rewards to athletes during his tenure. But players waited for more than a year and not all of them received the reward at the end.

Those who got their rewards include squash players Farhan Mehboob and Aamir Atlas Khan.

In addition, Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) secretary Mohammad Asghar confirmed that wrestlers Azhar Hussain and Mohammad Inam received their rewards for winning the gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

But pugilist Mohammas Waseem, who won a bronze medal at the games, has still not received half of his reward of Rs2 million.

“I’ve only received Rs1 million so far and I don’t know if I will ever get the remaining amount,” said Waseem. “It’s really upsetting that an athlete works so hard and brings laurels for the country but he never gets encouraged.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

KARACHI: Serious security threats failed to deter the public of North Nazimabad, an area which was severely disturbed due to bomb blasts recently, as masses hit the roads to cast their votes along with families on Saturday.

There were serious concerns among the public after a series of blast hit North Nazimabad which left more than a dozen people dead while scores of them were left either fatally injured or received minor injuries.

On April 23, Mutahidda Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) camp set at the People’s Chowrangi was targeted with a crude bomb while a day later another blast in Nusrat Bhutto Colony targeting an election campaign left the people of the area in shock as they were left at the mercy of terrorists.

The blasts continued for the next several days in Karachi but yet people brushed aside all concerns to make sure that they play an important part to improve their next five years.

The 78-year-old Abdus Samad – former economic advisor International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Director Economic and Research Department of State Bank of Pakistan – came to NA-244 polling station to cast his vote and said it is a “make-or-break” election for the nation.

“Despite all the security concerns, I’ve come with my family because it is a make or break election for Pakistan,” Samad told The Express Tribune.

“It’s not only about the government this time. It’s about the state as well which is on brink of being divided and at stake financially and economically. I urged my family members to put aside their safety concerns for a day in order to lay foundation for prosperous next five years.”

Samad, who has also been a visiting professor throughout the world and leading universities of Pakistan, stated that media has played a very important role in mobilising the masses and helping them understand the importance of their votes.

“Today media has helped even the uneducated people to know the importance and power of their vote. I’ve seen several elections in my life but the turnout which is I’m witnessing today is amazing and impressive,” he added.

Several elderly people were seen suffering from pain because of standing in long queues but yet they waited for their turns stressing that they have to come for the sake of a better future of their children and coming generations.

Meanwhile, a youngster Ahsan Ahmed – final year student of Department of Public Administration (DPA) of Karachi University – stated that he woke up early to make sure that he performs his national duty.

“We all need a change because last five years has been traumatic for us. This time youth will play an important role in elections and that is why we’ve come in groups to vote for a change,” Ahsan said.

“I hope that Imran Khan wins because all other parties have enjoyed power but have failed to deliver. It’s better to vote for someone new instead of wasting the vote on tried and tested leaders.”

Another impressive fact was the presence of ladies who were matching in numbers to their male counterparts and felt enough was enough as they wanted to have secure future for their children.

“We’ve come out with an aspiration to make sure that our children and family can breathe in a terror-free environment for next five years,” Mehnaz Raheel, a beautician by profession said.

“Females especially mothers have become mental and sugar patients because of target killing and blasts in Karachi. Enough is enough and we want peace now.”

KARACHI: Asian champion Aamir Atlas Khan and semi-finalist Farhan Mehboob have requested the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) to exempt them from appearing in trials for the upcoming World Team Championship, insisting that their achievements at the recently-concluded tournament in Islamabad needed to be ‘recognised’.

Aamir clinched the Asian Individual Squash Championship, beating Abdullah Al Muzayen in the final, after Farhan went down in the last-four to the Kuwaiti player.

The two Pakistan players now feel that their recent progress should be enough to convince the PSF of their form and fitness and ‘as a token of appreciation’, the federation should exempt them from trials that will select the team for the mega event to be held in France from June 9.

The players, along with national coach Jamshed Gul, met PSF President Tahir Rafique Butt at the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) headquarters in Islamabad. Aamir was given a cash prize of Rs200,000, while Farhan and Gul were given Rs50,000 each.

“I’ve requested Butt to exempt me from trials after my recent triumph,” Aamir, who became the first Pakistani to win the individual Asian title in 15 years, told The Express Tribune. “I’m hopeful he’ll recognise my achievement and grant me exemption and to Farhan. It’s a good gesture that the PSF has rewarded us prizes. But I was expecting much more and it’s sad that the government is yet to announce anything.”

It has been learnt that the national team management is in favour of getting Aamir, Farhan and Nasir Iqbal exempted from trials, while keeping the fourth place up for grabs for the likes of Danish Atlas and Farhan Zaman.

Meanwhile, Farhan opined that the trials undermine their achievements, adding that contesting for a place in the team with players they regularly defeat is ‘discouraging’. “We’ve defeated the top players of Asia, yet we’re asked to appear in trials against players we regularly defeat. This is really discouraging. I don’t know when our efforts will be acknowledged.”

Discussions were also held on Pakistan players’ participation in at least at least eight Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournaments in a year in order to improve their ranking.

Reacting to Aamir and Farhan’s remarks, legendary Qamar Zaman said that nobody is bigger than the game, adding that all players needed to go through the same process.

“I’d given trials even when I was world number two so there is no shame in giving trials,” said Zaman. “They need to go through the process that will only help them get competitive match time ahead of an important event.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2013.