Squash events’ proximity hurts junior players

KARACHI: Two national-level junior squash events are to be held in Sindh and Peshawar very close to each other next month, which might create travelling issues for players due to cold weather.
According to details, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Squash Association (KPSA) is organising All Pakistan Taj Mir Shah Junior Squash championship from February 3-6 for under-11 and under-19 players.
The venue is Hashim Khan Squash Complex, Peshawar, and the prize money offered is Rs90,000.
Similarly, Sindh Squash Association (Tahir Khanzada group) is organising Rehana Nazar Rashidabad National Junior Squash championship at Rehana Nazar Squash Complex, Rashidabad District Tando Allahyar, from February 7-10.
The prize money offered is Rs200,000, while the categories for boys are under-11, -13, -15, -17, and -19, and for girls under-15, and -19.
Since the dates of the two events almost clash, SSA decided that they would start matches for boys’ under-11 and under-19 categories from Feb 8, but the rest of the events would start from the 7th. “KPSA is holding under-11 category events in violation of the decision of the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) that no national events would have under-11 and under-9 players because they face problems in travelling due to their ages,” said an official of a provincial squash association.
The official said that since players of these categories cannot travel to other cities without parents they eventually decide not to go, which allows the players of KP to win and top the national rankings. “Organising national events for minors created issues for PSF last year when national rankings of these categories were released with massive discrepancies,” said the official.
Moreover, the official added, the two events were being held very close to each other, making it really difficult for players to participate in both. “Playing after so much travelling affects the performance of the players,” said the official.
When contacted, PSF secretary Amir Nawaz said the sponsors of both the events refused to change the dates so the organisers had no option because it was very difficult to find other sponsors. “Secondly, KPSA was holding its event with all categories, but Tahir Khanzada requested it not to do so as it would reduce the options for players to play both the events,” added the PSF secretary.
So KPSA agreed to open events of only under-11 and under-19 for national participation, he said. “We did decide not to hold national level events for under-9 and under-11 age categories due to travelling issues players face. It was part of the decision when PSF abolished prize money for all national junior events,” added Amir.
But, he added, the federation took back this decision and allowed prize money in junior events. “Therefore, it remains unclear whether that withdrawal of decision also nullified the restriction on holding national events for minors or not. PSF would look into it,” said Amir.
The provincial association official said that KPSA held national events for these categories throughout the year as it gave playing opportunities to the grandson of the association’s secretary. “It is against the rules and regulations of PSF. But nothing can be done to stop the KPSA official,” added the official.