Failing to qualify: No Pakistan representation in the British Open

Nasir, Farhan and Maria all lose in qualification but still have PSF’s support.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s hopes of competing in the main round of the Allam British Open have been quashed after Nasir Iqbal, Farhan Zaman and Maria Toorpakai Wazir all lost in the qualifying rounds. The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF), however, has thrown its support behind the two youngsters and Maria. 

Both Nasir and Farhan impressed in the Asian Championship; going down in the semis after putting up a good fight. However, they were brushed aside more meekly in the British Open qualifiers, as Farhan lost 3-1 to England’s Tom Richards in the first qualifying round and Nasir lost with the same scoreline in the final round of qualifying against Egypt’s Mohamed Aboulghar.

“We understand the players failed to repeat the performances of the Asian Championship but we’ll keep faith in them,” PSF secretary Amir Nawaz told The Express Tribune. “They were beaten by better opponents. We’re ready to invest in them and they will be given more Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournaments to improve their game and ranking. The players will return in a few days and it will then be decided where they should head to next.”

Nawaz added that the federation will be looking to send the players on as many tours as possible, wherever they may be, in order to provide them with the experience they need.

Both Nasir and Farhan were expected to receive six months of training in England, but Nawaz said that the plan has been delayed since no PSA events are to take place there in the near future. “There are no major tournaments in England so we postponed their scheduled coaching in England because they can’t play and train at the same time,” he revealed. “Right now we prefer them playing in tournaments than being coached.”

Nawaz added that the PSF will continue to overlook senior players Aamir Atlas Khan and Farhan Mehboob if they do not improve their attitude and abide by the federation’s rules.

Meanwhile, Maria also did not fare any better as she lost 3-0 to English Georgina Kennedy in her first qualifying match, with the match lasting just 22 minutes.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2015.

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