Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has announced an eight-member (men and women) squad for the upcoming Asian Games scheduled to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from August 18 to September 2. Farhan Mehboob and Farhan Zaman, the main players bidding to be selected in the men’s squad, could not perform well at the trials and subsequently their names have not been considered for final selection. It is pertinent to mention that on May 7 the PSF had announced the national squad for the Asian Games. However, later during the Pakistan Squash Circuit-I Tournament, Farhan Mehboob showing brilliant performance won the championship defeating several top players on his way to victory. Farhan Mehboob’s outstanding show somehow forced the PSF to again conduct the trials, which were held on June 4. Interestingly, Farhan Mehboob and Farhan Zaman who was selected in the squad named earlier could not impress in the latest trials and therefore were not considered for national duty.

“During the trials, Farhan Mehboob stood fifth, as he faced defeats in most of the matches. And Farhan Zaman after featuring in the trials initially decided to give up due to a hamstring problem,” a PSF spokesman said Friday. Now Tayyab Aslam, Amaad Fareed, Mohammad Asim Khan and Israr Ahmed will represent Pakistan in the men’s event of the Asian Games while Madina Zafar, Faiza Zafar, Riffat Khan and Amina Fayaz will participate in the women’s section. “We have selected a balanced squad for the Asian Games. The federation hopes that the players will produce good results in Indonesia, particularly in the men’s event,” he said.

“A training camp for the Games is already in progress while from June 26, a tournament carrying a cash prize of $10,000 for men and $5,000 for women is slated to be held in Lahore. Another tournament, carrying the same prize money, will be held in Karachi from July 6. These events provide a good opportunity for the selected players to get maximum training for the Asian Games,” he concluded.

Published in Daily Times, June 9^th 2018.