Karachi aik martaba phir international squash ka markaz banne ja raha hai jahan Karachi Open International Squash Tournament ka aaghaz 6 January se 11 January tak hoga. Is baat ka elaan Sindh Squash Association ke Chairman aur former World Champion Jahangir Khan aur Tournament Director Adnan Asad ne DHA Creek Club mein press conference ke dauran kiya. Yeh six-day event PSA World Tour Gold category ka hissa hai aur is mein record USD 242,000 prize money rakhi gayi hai, jo Pakistan ki squash history mein aik aham milestone hai.
Tournament mein men’s aur women’s dono categories shamil hongi, jahan har category ke liye USD 120,500 mukarrar kiye gaye hain. Duniya bhar se top-ranked international players is championship mein hissa le rahe hain, jabke dono draws ke top 8 seeds ko first round bye milay gi aur woh seedha second round mein enter karen ge.
Men’s event mein Egypt ke World No.4 Karim Abdel Gawad top seed hain, jabke World No.7 Marwan Elshorbagy second seed ke taur par competition mein utarain ge. Pakistan ki numayandagi World Under-23 Champion Noor Zaman (World No.38) aur Mohammad Asad Irfan (World No.47) kar rahe hain, jabke former national champions Nasir Iqbal aur Tayyab Aslam ko wild card entries di gayi hain.
Women’s category mein Egypt ki World No.4 aur World Junior Champion Amina Orfi top seed hain, jabke Malaysia ki Sivasangari Subramaniam (World No.7) second seed ke taur par shamil hain. Pakistan ki taraf se Sana Bahadur aur Maryam Malik ko wild card entries di gayi hain, jo local talent ke liye aik bara moka samjha ja raha hai.
Pakistan Squash Revival and Future Vision
Is tournament ko Pakistan squash ke revival ki taraf aik historic qadam qarar diya ja raha hai. Jahangir Khan ne press conference mein kaha ke Karachi Open ka mun‘aqid hona Pakistan ke squash dominance ko wapas lane ki koshish ka hissa hai. Unhon ne Sindh government, khaas tor par Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, ka shukriya ada kiya jinhon ne event ke liye USD 200,000 ka grant diya.
Unka kehna tha ke is qisam ke international events ka pur-aman aur kamyab inqad Pakistan ka positive image duniya ke samne pesh karega aur naye talent ko samne lane mein madad milegi. Organisers ne yeh bhi wazeh kiya ke aglay saal is event ko PSA Platinum status tak le jane ka plan hai, jahan prize money USD 1 million tak barhai ja sakti hai.
Is dauran Indian players ki withdrawal par bhi baat ki gayi, jise organisers ne sports ko politics se jorne ki aik aur misaal qarar diya. Jahangir Khan ka kehna tha ke sports ko siyasi tanaza‘at se door rehna chahiye, khas tor par jab squash jaise game ko Olympic level par naya maqam mil raha ho.
Karachi Open International Squash Tournament na sirf Pakistan ke liye aik bara sporting event hai, balkay yeh squash ke future, international exposure aur naye khilariyon ke liye aik strong foundation bhi sabit ho sakta hai.
