Daily Times

RAWALPINDI: The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, on Friday received Pakistan’s World Team Junior Squash Championship winning squad here at PAF Nur Khan Air Base. The four-member team, accompanied by their manager Qamar Zaman and coach Amjad Khan, was warmly felicitated by the Air Chief, who is also the President of the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF). The Vice President of the PSF, Syed Razi-ul-Hassan Nawab, and the PSF Director Air Commodore Aftab Qureshi were also present on the occasion. Pakistan juniors had stunned favourites Egypt 2-1 in the final in Poland on Wednesday to win their sixth title and the first after 2008.

Talking to media, the Air Chief said it was heartening that Pakistan juniors got a great achievement after a gap of several years. “This is not a little success. Our junior players have made the entire nation proud and they deserve appreciation and encouragement,” he added.

He said that the federation had set a target to regain lost glory in the squash and expressed optimism that Pakistan would manage to produce world champions in the next three years. “I’m hopeful we’ll get world champion from these boys,” he said. He lauded the services of former squash greats Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan and Qamar Zaman, stating that their guidance and support had helped the youngsters to excel at the international level. He said that the academies set up by the national federation in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi had started to yield results. “Junior players had undergone an extensive training at the squash academies and that helped them emerge victorious against event’s favourites.” Sohail said that the members of winning team would be given incentives and rewards. “They have made the nation proud and we all should encourage them,” he said.

Pakistan team manager and former squash great Qamar Zaman said that academies were helping a lot in squash uplift. “Now we can judge in a better way what are the weaknesses and strengths of our players and plan accordingly,” he remarked. Sharing their sentiments, players Israr Ahmed and Abbas Shoukat said that they had entered in the final with a thought that they would win the championship at all costs. “I had promised with myself that I would utilize all my energies to win the contest and thank God I emerged victorious,” said Israr, who came out on top against Saadeldin Abouaish in the first match of the final.