Squash: Danish wants to be Pakistan’s number one

Junior squash player eyes improvement after bagging Asian award.

KARACHI:

Pakistan’s junior squash star Danish Atlas wants to break into the top-30 by the end of the year after bagging the Junior Player of the Year Award by the Asian Squash Federation (ASF).

The award was in recognition of his impressive show of late — he was part of Pakistan’s squad that won the Asian Team Championship last year, bagged gold in the Asian Junior Individual event and won three PSA Challenger tournaments as well.

“I have been performing well in the last 18 months and have gained a lot of confidence with the recent wins and the award,” Danish told The Express Tribune. “Now my target is to break into the top-30 by the end of the year.”

Danish was not part of the Pakistan team that recently defended its Asian team title – beating India in the final – and was focusing on the World Junior Championship that is due to be held in July.

“We were unlucky and did not get visas in time last year although we had put in a lot of effort for the event. However, this time I am looking to make up for the lost time by putting up a good show this year.”

Meanwhile, Danish’s elder brother Amir Atlas is Pakistan’s top-ranked player, a position that the young, 19-year-old wants to snatch away from Amir.

“Everybody wants to be at the top in the rankings and that is exactly the case with me as well.

“I want to be Pakistan’s number one squash player and do great things for the country in the future,” said Danish before hoping that the Pakistan Squash Federation announces some cash incentive for his achievement and the players who helped Pakistan retain the Asian team title.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2012.