‘Heartbroken’ Sadia keen to prove a point

Pakistan female squash star determined to make a comeback.

ISLAMABAD: Promising female player Sadia Gul said that her exclusion from the Pakistan squad for the recently concluded Asian Individual Squash Championship was heartbreaking but she is determined to pave her way back into the team.

Sadia was all set to be a part of the squad but her name was pulled out at the last minute as she could not appear in two championships because of her examinations. Saima Shaukat was included instead of her.

But despite that, Sadia was seen hitting the squash courts to practise harder. She played matches against players who had lost in the event to test herself.

“It was an obvious heartbreak to miss out on what would have probably been the biggest event of my career so far,” Sadia told The Express Tribune.



“I had my examinations and couldn’t appear in two events, so the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) took my name out. But I’ve taken it positively and will work harder to improve. I won’t give a reason to anyone to exclude my name even if they want to.”

“I took full advantage of the Asian championship by watching the matches of top players to learn how they play and carry themselves, while I also had some game time with players from Sri Lanka who had lost in the early stages.”

Pakistan head coach Jamshed Gul rates the player from Peshawar highly and once said that she was the fittest and most technically sound player in the current lot.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2013.