Zaman scouting talent in Peshawar

PSF official organising juniors’ championship in K-P.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) Vice-President Qamar Zaman is scouting talent in Peshawar by organising two juniors’ championship from September 17.

The former world number two said that he was scheduling the championship in his capacity as the general-secretary of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Squash Association (KPKSA).

“The PSF hasn’t been active lately,” Zaman told The Express Tribune. “I’ve spent my life playing squash so I’ve taken the initiative. I’ve got more than 100 entries from the province.”

Zaman said that the tournament will feature players ranging from the ages of nine to 12. The KPKSA official added that the purpose behind holding the event was to promote the sport in Peshawar and find talented players.

“We used to see a lot of players coming from Peshawar and Karachi, but now there’s hardly any new talent. This is an effort to attract children. Squash is immensely popular here and my idea is to scout the talented kids and groom them. The number of entries is an encouraging sign.”

The former player also aims to hold a under-15 national tournament in Abbottabad from September 20. He said that the country was only dependent on a handful of players to earn laurels and this trend had to stop.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th,  2011.