06-May-2012
The News
Khalid Hussain
KARACHI: Pakistan on Saturday blanked arch-rivals India 2-0 in the men’s final of the 2012 Asian Team Squash Championships in Kuwait City and then promised that the result will trigger a revival for the sport in the country.
Farhan Zaman gave his team a perfect start in the title clash when he edged Harinder Sandhu 3-2 and later the seasoned Farhan Mehboob overcame Sourav Ghausal, the highest-ranked player in the tournament, with a similar margin to help Pakistan defend the men’s crown.
“It is a great result for us,” said Wing Commander Abdul Wahab Marwat, secretary of the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF).
“We are making efforts to revive our lost glory in squash and are confident that this title will help us in our campaign,” he told ‘The News’ soon after the national team’s victory.
Pakistan were once undisputed kings of world squash with their legendary champions that included Hashim Khan, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan winning countless titles during a golden period which began in the fifties and lasted till the nineties.
But in the last 12 years or so, Pakistan squash has been experiencing a continuous slump and today the country which once used to have around six to seven of its players in the top-ten world rankings does not even have a single entry in the top-20 club.
On Saturday, India made an all out attempt to win their first Asian men’s team title and were supported by a strong crowd. However, the Pakistani boys held their nerves and managed to retain the crown in an impressive manner.
“To win the Asian title by beating India in the final is great for the morale of our boys,” said Marwat. “In this championship, we did not have a couple of our leading players including Aamir Atlas Khan but still managed to win the title,” he added.
Earlier, Pakistan marched into the final by beating title contenders Malaysia 2-0 in the last-four stage of the tournament.
Meanwhile, India’s boys and girls made history by qualifying for the Asian finals for the first time.
Indian women made short work of South Korea in the semifinals with a 2-0 triumph to confirm a title clash against Hong Kong. Their male counterparts were also impressive in a similar win against hosts Kuwait.
“This is a remarkable performance, we are very proud of our players,” said India’s Cyrus Poncha after his team’s historic entry into the final.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/ |
