Nasir, Farhan to represent Pakistan at World Open

Aamir blames PSF for not sending his entry before closing date.

KARACHI: Pakistan will be without the services of Asian Champion Aamir Atlas Khan during the PSA World Open Championship, as his entry was not sent to organisers before the closing date. 

Aamir had also missed the World Team Championship event in France, having argued with the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) for an exemption from trials due to his status as the Asian Champion and for not being 100% fit during that time. However, the federation had refused to entertain his demands.

He was only given exemption at the eleventh hour when Pakistan was refused visas for two of its players, but Aamir turned down the offer.

Despite being Pakistan’s best hope, he will sit out of the World Open, which is  scheduled for October in Manchester, UK. When the PSF was contacted over this latest episode, an official stated that Aamir had not sent in his entry.

“We asked Aamir to send his entry for the World Open but he didn’t,” the official told The Express Tribune.

“Only Nasir Iqbal and Farhan Mehboob sent their entries before the closing date and their names have been accepted. There is no way that Aamir can be considered for the World Open now.”

‘Federation should have sent my entry’

Aamir lashed out at the PSF, blaming them for this latest snub as it was an embarrassment for him to miss out an important squash tournament.

“Being ignored like this is a big embarrassment for me since I’m the best player in Pakistan,” said Aamir. “Ever since I became the Asian Champion, this is the second major tournament where I won’t be representing Pakistan because of the PSF.

“The federation is responsible for sending names of participants in important tournaments such as the British Open, World Open and Team Championships. I request PSF President Tahir Rafique Butt to take notice of this issue, otherwise our freefall will continue in squash. We need to change policies, not just faces.”

Meanwhile, the PSF has been going through changes with Group Captain Amir Nawaz set to replace Abdul Wahab Marwat as secretary of the federation. This development may benefit players like Aamir, Danish Atlas and Farhan Zaman since Marwat was known to favour Nasir due to similar backgrounds.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2013.

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