Despite being crowned the Asian champion last year, Aamir Atlas has failed to capitalise on the achievement and is currently ranked 81 in the world. PHOTO: FILE EXPRESS
Nasir is currently the highest-ranked Pakistan player in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) rankings, placed at 53rd and followed by Zaman on 68th.
However, Gul feels that their potential calls for a better show, adding that their imminent task would be to continue improving their rankings which have been below-par for some time now.
“I’ve asked Iqbal and Zaman to perform well and break into the top 40 in world ranking,” Gul told The Express Tribune.
“They have the skills and fitness to achieve this target but I don’t know what’s stopping them from achieving it. Iqbal has been languishing between 48-55 for some time while Zaman has also hit a low and his progress has become stagnant in the last few tournaments.”
He also revealed that the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) wanted to send Aamir Atlas Khan and Farhan Mehboob to the US as well, but the players did not get entries in events due to their low rankings.
“We would like our top players Aamir and Mehboob to get maximum exposure so that their rankings can improve, as they were on a free fall after failing to get PSA tournaments under their belt in the last 12 months.”
Hamza, Iqbal move in quarters
Iqbal stormed into the quarter-final of the $10,000 Emerson Racquet Club Pro Series after thrashing Karamatullah Khan 3-0 in St Louis, Missouri.
Iqbal took just 24 minutes to complete the rout with a scoreline of 11-7, 11-3 and 11-1 and will now face Netherland’s Sebastiaan Weenink.
Compatriot Hamza Bukhari was involved in a tough fight against Nigeria’s Tunde Ajagbe but came out on top 3-1 after a 51-minute battle. He won by 9-11, 11-5, 11-7 and 11-7.
Zaman bites dust in JP Morgan qualifiers
Zaman started his tour on a wrong note as he was beaten in straight sets by Scotland’s Alan Clyne in the World Series JP Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York with scores of 12-10, 11-5 and 11-2.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2014.
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