Pakistan men seeded second for Asian squash

Defending champions to face India, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Kuwait.

KARACHI: The Asian Squash Federation (ASF) have released the seedings for the countries taking part in the upcoming continental team championships to be held from June 11 in Hong Kong, China.

Interestingly, India are seeded at the top in the men’s event while defending champions Pakistan have been placed as second seeds.

Third seed Malaysia are followed by hosts Hong Kong and Kuwait as fourth and fifth seeds respectively.



Meanwhile, in the women’s category, Pakistan are behind as seventh seeds given the low standards of players in the country, with the only noticeable performer being Maria Toor Pakay.

Malaysia take the top spot, while India and Hong Kong are seeded second and third in the given order.

Coach Jamshed Gul said that he is happy with the seedings in both the categories.

“I’m satisfied with our seedings as released by the ASF for both the men’s and women’s championships,” Gul told The Express Tribune.

“We’ve been training hard for the event and now we’ll have clearer picture about our plans going into the tournament.”

The national men’s team consists of Nasir Iqbal, Farhan Mehboob, Farhan Zaman and Danish Atlas.

Iqbal is currently the highest-ranked Pakistani player in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) rankings at 45th, while Zaman sits on the 59th spot. Danish is ranked 68th in the world while Mehboob is on the 96th place.

It has been learnt that the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has sent its players’ seedings to the ASF for approval, naming Iqbal as the top seed followed by Mehboob, Zaman and Danish.

Mehboob, who is a former world number 16, has been recommended for the second seed due to his seniority and performances in national events.

Asian Individual Squash Champion Aamir Atlas will not be part of the mega event as he has been forced out due to an injury he sustained in Kuwait during a PSA tournament.

Meanwhile, Maria Toor, Samar Anjum, Riffat Khan and Muqaddas Ashraf complete the final lineup for the women’s side.

Juniors warned by PSF after scuffle

The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has come down hard on junior players after a scuffle between Asian Junior Individual champion Ali Bokhari and Abbas Shaukat during trails for the World Junior Championship which saw both players exchanging heated words.

“We’ve officially warned the players regarding their behaviour and have asked them to provide explanations,” said PSF Secretary Amir Nawaz.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2014.

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