Age limit in national squash event irks players

KARACHI: The organisers of Karachi Gymkhana national men’s squash championship have surprisingly imposed age restriction, barring many players from participating.

It has been learnt that the organisers of the event, scheduled at KG from May 17-20, have shockingly stopped players over 25 years of age from participating in the championship.

A message circulated by the organizers says: “only those who have sent entry for [the] event and less than 25 years are eligible to participate.”

This was meant for the four slots of four local qualifiers. “This has never happened in any national-level seniors championship. The organisers cannot restrict participation in senior events on the basis of players’ ages,” said a local coach.

He added that this shows that Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) had miserably failed to monitor the high-handedness of local organisers and had allowed them to violate rules and regulations.

Many players had to return when the organisers refused them the opportunity to play the qualifying slots on Saturday because they were over 25.

“The local organisers are introducing their own rules. This is strange,” said the coach.

He added that they had made this event a laughing stock by allowing wild card entries although the prize money was just Rs100,000. “The one lac prize money for a national-level event is a joke. This much prize money should be offered only in provincial-level events. The PSF has to look into these issues if it wants to make things better,” suggested the coach.

The main event will be preceded by a one-day qualifying round at the Karachi Gymkhana courts on May 16. The last date for the submission of entries was May 8. ‘The News’ tried to contact PSF secretary Tahir Sultan for comments but he “was in a meeting”.