Aamir, Mehboob yet to report for training

The event will take place in Kuwait starting May 1

KARACHI: Senior players Aamir Atlas Khan and Farhan Mehboob are yet to report to Pakistan’s training camp for the upcoming Asian Individual Championship which starts from May 1 in Kuwait.

The two have been at loggerheads with the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) for personal reasons; while Danish Atlas too is yet to officially join.

Aamir is the reigning Asian champion since he won the title back in 2013 after beating Kuwait’s Abdullah alMuzayen in Islamabad. However, the 24-year-old has struggled to appear in Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournaments regularly, resulting in a fall in his rankings, a case similar to that of former world number 16, Mehboob.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s highest-ranked PSA players, Nasir Iqbal and Farhan Zaman, have already started preparing for the continental championship.

“Nasir and Farhan have joined the camp and will undergo training on a daily basis,” PSF secretary Amir Nawaz told The Express Tribune.

“Aamir, Danish and Mehboob haven’t joined the camp but I don’t want to get into those details. We’ll shortly announce official trials for the Asian event and everyone will have to be a part of the process.”

The PSF has sidelined Jamshed Gul from the national side and many believe it is this change that led to Pakistan’s loss in Malaysia Asian Junior Team Championship under the guidance of Faheem Gul.

The players have rued this move as they believe Jamshed is more capable of preparing them for the event in Kuwait.

 

 

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