$23,500 DHA Cup International Squash Championship 2018 starts today
The $20,000 DHA Cup International Squash Championship men’s and women’s is set to commence from November 20-24 at the DA Creek Club Asif Nawaz Squash Complex,Karachi.
The $20,000 DHA Cup International Squash Championship men’s and women’s is set to commence at the DA Creek Club Asif Nawaz Squash Complex,Karachi from November 20-24.
The men’s event that carries a purse of US $18,000 will see 11 foreign players in action in a 32-man draw while the US $5,500 women’s competition includes four foreigners.
According to the entry list, world number 45 Karim Ali Fathi from Egypt is top seed in this championship that is to be played at DA Creek Club.World No 52 Mohamed Reda from Egypt is second seed, Ivan Yuen from Malaysia third, Tayyab Aslam from Pakistan fourth, Asim Khan from Pakistan fifth, Ahmed Hosny from Egypt sixth, Farhan Mehboob from Pakistan seventh, and Addeen Idrakie from Malaysia eighth.
The 9-16 seed players are Ahsan Ayaz, Farhan Zaman, Shahjahan Khan, and Israr Ahmed from Pakistan, Youssef Ibrahim from Egypt, Amaad Fareed from Pakistan, Sajad Zareian Jahromi from Iran, and Syed Ali Mujtaba Shah Bokhari from Pakistan.
The unseeded players in this championship are Khawaja Adil Maqbool from Pakistan, Henrik Mustonen from Finland, Navid Maleksabet from Iran, Ryan Pasqual from Malaysia, Danish Atlas Khan from Pakistan, and Ong Sai Hung from Malaysia.
The organisers have given wildcards to Naveed Rehman and Saad Abdullah from Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention here that this championship was earlier scheduled from October 15-20. The organisers have got it registered afresh from Professional Squash Association (PSA) for November.
The women’s quartet from abroad who will make their presence felt includes second seed Ooi Kah Yan (Malaysia), third seed Farida Mohamed (Egypt), fourth seed Farah Momen (Egypt), and unseeded Amina El Rihany (Egypt).
Unseeded Arisha Jahan Khan (US), daughter of former Pakistan squash player Zarak Jehan Khan has withdrawan leaving four foreigners in the fray. Her first round Pakistani opponent Noor-ul-Huda has been awarded a bye.
Two international foreign referees namely Rajiv Reddy (India) and Naved Kashif (Malaysia) have also arrived here on Monday to supervise the matches alongside Pakistani counterparts.
Top seed Madina Zafar, who is ranked 85th in the world, will have a rare opportunity to win an international event while justifying her credentials. If nothing unforeseen happens, she is likely to face second seed Ooi Kah Yan of Malaysia in the title clash. The latter is ranked 94th.
Squash celebrity Jahangir Khan will formally inaugurate the DHA Cup at 3:00pm.A total of eight first round matches in men’s and women’s apiece will be played on the opening day as top eight seeds in the two categories have got a first round bye.
The top eight men’s and women’s who have got a first round bye are as follows.
Men’s: 1-Karim Ali Fathi (Egy), 2-Mohamed Reda (Egy), 3-Ivan Yuen (Mal), 4-Tayyab Aslam(Pak), 5-Asim Khan (Pak), 6-Ahmed Hosny (Egy), 7-Farhan Mehboob (Pak), 8-Addeen Idrakie (Mal).
Women’s: 1-Madina Zafar (Pak), 2-Ooi Kah Yan (Mal), 3-Farida Mohamed (Egy), 4-Farah Momen (Egy), 5-Sadia Gul (Pak), 6-Riffat Khan (Pak), 7-Anam Mustafa Aziz (Pak), 8-Amna Fayyaz (Pak).
Tuesday’s(20th Nov) fixtures:
Matches start at 12noon:
Men’s first round:
Navid Maleksabet (Iran) vs Israr Ahmed (Pak),
Farhan Zaman (Pak) vs Danish Atlas Khan (Pak),
Ryan Pasqual (Mal) vs Ahsan Ayaz (Pak),
Ali Mujtaba Shah Bokhari (Pak) vs Khawaja Adil Maqbool (Pak),
Henrik Mustonen (Finland) vs Amaad Fareed (Pak),
Sajad Zareian Jahromi (Iran) vs Saad Abdullah (Pak),
Naveed Rehman (Pak) vs Youssef Ibrahim (Egy),
Shahjehan Khan (Pak) vs Ong Sai Hung (Mal).
Women’s first round:
Ilsa Imran (Pak) vs Komal Khan (Pak),
Saima Shoukat (Pak) vs Neha Kamal (Pak),
Amina El Rihany (Egy) vs Muqaddas Javed (Pak),
Noor-ul-Huda (Pak) vs Arisha Jehan Khan (US),
Zaynab Khan (Pak) vs Zoya Khalid (Pak),
Fehmina Asim (Pak) vs Nimra Aqeel (Pak),
Maria Saleem (Pak) vs Muqaddas Ashraf (Pak),
Rushna Mehboob (Pak) vs Mehwish Ayub (Pak).
