No less than top-30 rankings this year, says PSF

Squash federation sets 2014 target for players, officials.

KARACHI:

The top management of the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has decided to set a target for its players to reach the top-30 world rankings and has stressed that 2014 will be the year of deliverance.

The PSF think tank stressed that it is high time that players and officials alike deliver better results or face the axe.

Pakistani players have done well in Asian events – both team and individual competitions – at all levels, but in major Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournaments, they have struggled considerably.

“We have pledged that in the next four to five months, we should have players in the top 30,” a senior PSF official told The Express Tribune.

“The federation will facilitate them with sponsorships and tournaments, but at the same time there will be accountability of their progress and results.

“It’s time we improve our play and reset our aims if we want to reach the heights of our previous golden years, when Pakistan used to rule the world of squash.”

The PSF has also set a target of winning Asian events to be staged in Hong Kong and South Korea in coming months, while it also expects young players to produce good results in this year’s World Junior event which is to be played in Namibia.

International players to return in PSA event

The federation has been lobbying to get rid of the ban on international players that prevents them from playing PSA events in Pakistan.

PSF Senior Vice President Razi Nawab, former legends Jahangir Khan and Qamar Zaman have been making efforts to persuade the international association to reassess the ban which is hurting Pakistan players’ rankings.

“Asian champion Amir Atlas Khan (87), Nasir Iqbal (42), Farhan Zaman (61) and others have been trying to improve their ranking but they face major obstacles because major tournaments are not being played in Pakistan,” added the official.

“If we can stage competitions worth even $25,000 in Pakistan, our players will gain points by appearing in them and it will help boost their rankings.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2014.

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