Squash: High-flying Pakistan eye world title

Squash players leave for Doha ahead of event.

KARACHI: On a high after their recent Asian triumph, Pakistan have set their sights on the WSF World Junior Squash Championship as the squad left for Doha to feature in the event starting on July 7.

Pakistan won this year’s Asian Team Championship, beating India in the final, and will look to translate that success at a bigger stage when the tournament gets underway at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. The squad will be led by Danish Atlas, who defended his Asian junior champion title, and head coach Jamshed Gul has high hopes from the team.

“We should at least qualify for the final considering the form and fitness of our players,” Gul told The Express Tribune. “Egypt’s the best team and will be favourites for the title while England can give us a tough time as well.”

Pakistan squad looks good on paper with promising players including Nasir Iqbal, a member of the Asian Team Championship, in the side along with Hamzah Bokhari and Tayyab Aslam. Gul, however, pinned his hope on Atlas and Iqbal. The event starts with the individual championship where Atlas is gearing up to add to his titles. However, he remained wary of defending champion and top-seed Egypt’s Marwan El Shorbagy.

“I’m in the best shape going into the event and I’m confident that I can overcome Shorbagy,” said Atlas. “He could be up against Bokhari and Iqbal so I hope my teammates can help me in that regard.”

Meanwhile, Gul said that he has a plan in mind to stop Shorbagy. “

We want our players to stretch their matches against Shorbagy to drain his energy until he probably meets Atlas in the semi-final. Sometimes players are required to help their best teammate this way.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2012.