Atlas departs for the British Open

Top squash player leaves for 2010 British Open, to be held from September 15 to 20.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s top squash player Amir Atlas left for the 2010 British Open that will be held from September 15 to 20 in Manchester, where the world’s top 32 players will compete to win the prestigious title and $92,500 prize money.

The British Grand Prix is the sixth of ten PSA Super Series events in 2010, where Atlas, the 23rd ranked player in the world, is participating in the tournament for the fourth time in his career.

He has to follow up on the great history that Pakistani players have made in the championship with Jahangir Khan winning it 10 times,  Hashim Khan seven times and Jansher Khan lifting the trophy six times.

“It is a huge event for me and I think I will reach atleast the quarter-finals there,” Atlas told The Express Tribune. “I practiced with a former champion and my uncle Jansher for a week so I feel I can use his tips to perform well in the competition.”

However, Jansher thinks that a week’s training is not enough to get Atlas the championship title and the Pakistan number one desperately needs to work on his fitness or else he will never progress into top-10 world rankings.

“I have a two-month plan for Atlas. Once he comes back from the UK, we will begin the physical training that will consist of at least four to five hours of ground work. If Atlas completes this he will get into top five PSA rankings within a year,” said Jansher.

Pakistan number two Farhan Mehboob will join Atlas at the British Open as Pakistan’s other representative.

Published in The Express Tribune, 11^th, 2010.