World junior championship: Pakistan squash team begins training

The players practice in month-long training camp at night

KARACHI: The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) began a month-long juniors training camp ahead of the players’ participation at the World Junior Individual Championship, which is scheduled to be played in the Netherlands next month.

The camp will be held at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad where players will train at night due to Ramazan.

After the successful conclusion of trials, the PSF selected five players for the championship: Tayyab Aslam, Israr Ahmed, Asim Khan, Abbas Shaukat and Ahsan Ayaz. PSF secretary Amir Nawaz and coach Fahim Gul will guide them over the next month.

“All players reported to the camp over the weekend and will start their training today [Monday],” Nawaz told The Express Tribune. “We’ve decided that it will begin after Taraweeh prayers, which are around 11:00pm and continue till Sehri. This will allow the players to fast during Ramazan and still give their best during practice.”

As many as seven junior players were called up for the selection and the two who missed out on the bus are Zeeshan Khan and Kashif Asif.

According to the PSF secretary, the trials were held early as the World Squash Federation (WSF) had set a deadline of June 12 to submit the final names of participants. “Now we have plenty of time to work on the players’ fitness levels and skills. Hopefully, once the World Junior Championship arrives, our athletes will be in top form. They will also play practice matches with with seniors Nasir Iqbal and Farhan Zaman to further improve on their game,” said Nawaz.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2015.

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