Squash: Atlas cruises into tournament quarters

Pakistan number one squash player registers straight-sets win.

KARACHI: Pakistan number one Aamir Atlas began his campaign at the men’s Pakistan Circuit Four 2011 Championship with a 3-0 win over Syed Hamza Shah Bukhari in Lahore, cruising into the quarter-finals of the $12,000 event.

Atlas, the top seed at the event that is featuring players from Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad, faced few issues as he dispatched off Bukhari with scores of 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 in his opening match.

Atlas was handed a two-year ban by the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) in October but is participating in the event since it is being organised by the Punjab Squash Federation and is funded by the Professional Squash Association (PSA), the sport’s governing body for men’s professional squash circuit.

“I’m just excited to be able to play a tournament on my home ground,” Atlas told The Express Tribune. “I haven’t won any international tournament this year so I’m hoping that this becomes the highlight for me in 2011.

“The level of competition in the local events has improved significantly and I enjoyed the way crowd cheered for me. It’s something that I don’t get in international tournaments. Although the PSF tried its best to stop me from taking part in this event, but it’s a PSA tournament and I can play here,” added Atlas who is playing in Pakistan after a gap of one year.

He said that it was important for him to win this tournament since he badly needs the ranking points to stay among the top 30 international players. Atlas will start his 2012 campaign with a tour to the US from January 20, taking part in four events.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2011.