KARACHI: Pakistan Squash Federation has reverted to the old method of players’ age verification while annulling standardised age testing British procedure it adopted in early 2021.
It has been learnt that the federation has intimated the participants of Quaid-E-Azam PSA Closed Satellite Squash Championship (scheduled in Islamabad next month) that players’ age would be verified during attendance through NADRA Form-B and NADRA Birth Certificate.
“All players must be in possession of their original Form-B/Birth Certificate at the time of attendance,” stated PSF in an email to all of its affiliated units. It is worth adding here that PSF adopted a standardised age testing British procedure for junior squash players in 2021 and conducted bone tests of 47 junior players at the radiology department of the Army Medical College to categorise players according to their real age.
“Yes the new management of the federation has gone back to old methods of age verification,” said an official of PSF while talking to ‘The News’. It is to be noted that British qualified doctors conducted those tests which then became standard for all junior players wishing to represent Pakistan.
“These tests were conducted under strict procedures to standardise the junior circuit,” said the official, adding that it is unfortunate that the new method has been given up. The official added that this is the reason a number of cases regarding the age of junior players have surfaced both at the national and international levels.
In this regard, a former player based in the United States informed this scribe that the US Squash warned PSF against sending overage players in the US Junior Open held in December. “The US Squash emailed to PSF stating that they would conduct age verification tests of Pakistani players during the US Junior Open,” said the player.
Almost half of the players who had entered the event withdrew their names after this warning. A coach said that the commentators at the recently concluded British Junior Open made fun of a Pakistani player who reached the final of under-13 category.
“The commentators were continuously showing amazement at the age of the Pakistani player. They repeatedly assured viewers that this was the final of under-13 category, not the under-15 category,” said the coach.
Punjab Squash Association in November raised objections over the declared age of a number of junior players from PAF Academy. It was reported by ‘The News’ that PSA wrote a letter to PSF that they found a number of players from the PAF Squash Academy overage for the under-13 category at a junior event in Rawalpindi.
