No national squash event in Karachi next year

KARACHI: Karachi, once the hub of squash in the country, has been ignored by Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) as no national event has been planned for the city next year.

According to the event calendar submitted to Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), the federation will organise a number of national events across the country from January to October next year. But not a single event has been awarded to Karachi.

The national events are planned in Peshawar (January, March, April, June, July, August), Abbottabad (February), Lahore (May, October), and Islamabad (October).

“There was one high-prize international event held in Karachi which was organised by Pakistan Navy this year,” said a local coach. "And a private organiser hosted five international satellite events in the city this year," he added.

But, he added, no national event was held in the city in 2020 and there are no events that are to be held in the remaining months of the year. The coach added that this is the city where legendary squash player Jahangir Khan lives and he also heads the provincial squash body.

“Yet, this treatment to the city in the presence of such a legendary player is astonishing,” he added. He said Jahangir must talk to PSF and draw their attention towards this bad treatment to the city. “We have not been producing quality squash players from Karachi and now this complete absence of competitive squash will further hurt the sport,” he added.