Juniors leave for Thailand for Asian squash event

ISLAMABAD: A group of Pakistan junior players including the girls has left for Thailand to compete in the Asian Squash Championship starting from tomorrow (Wednesday).

For the first time in the recent past, five girls and eight boys have been made part of the touring squad in an effort to give them the required international exposure for important events to come.

“On the special instructions of Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar, who is also president of the Pakistan Squash Federation, efforts were made to include all the deserving players in the squad,” a PSF official said.

PSF Senior Vice President Air Marshal Aamir Masood monitored the progress of each player during a lengthy camp that continued at the Mushaf Ali Mir Complex in the recent past. “The SVP PSF stayed in constant touch with the coaches and managers on camp probable training and even visited the camp many times to interact with juniors. Though we would miss potential Asian champion Hamza Khan, efforts would be to perform well in the all boys event. Even in the girls’ category, we are expecting encouraging results,” the official said.

Pakistan junior squad for the Asian Championship: Boys’ Under-13: Ahmed Khalil, Noman Khan; Boys’ Under-15: Azan Ali, Mubeen Khan; Boys’ Under-17: Abdullah Nawaz, Usman Nadeem; Boys’ Under-19: Noor Zaman, Anas Bukhari; Girls’ Under-19: Mariam Malik; Girls’ Under-17: Mehwish Ali, Sana Bahadur; Girls’ Under-15: Luiza Aftab, Amna Malik.