British Open: Nasir, Zaman set to represent Pakistan

Both players, along with Maria, have to go through qualifying to reach the main round.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal and Farhan Zaman will represent Pakistan in the British Open men’s event while Maria Toorpakai will carry the flag in the women’s competition to be played in Hull, England from May 11 to May 17.

Both Nasir and Zaman will have to appear in the qualifiers, which start from Saturday, to qualify for the main round. Nasir will be up against England’s Ashley Davis, while Zaman will take on Tom Richards.

Nasir and Zaman reached the semi-finals of the Asian Individual Championship a few days back in the absence of senior players Aamir Atlas Khan and Farhan Mehboob, but Pakistan failed to defend their Asian crown.

Despite that failure, the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) secretary is happy with the performances of the youngsters and believes that they have a bright future. “Nasir and Zaman played really well at the Asian championship and I’m expecting them to do well at the British Open as well,” PSF secretary Amir Nawaz told The Express Tribune. “People were unsure whether they would be able to put up a fight but they did. Both of them were unlucky and it could just as easily have been an all-Pakistan final in Kuwait.”

However, Nawaz added the two now need to look forward rather than at what could have been. “That is history and now they have got the British Open ahead of them, and I’m hoping they can repeat their previous performances in Hull.”

Maria, meanwhile, will lock horns with England’s Georgina Kennedy in her qualifier.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2015.

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