KARACHI: Pakistan’s top squash players Tayyab Aslam and Asim Khan have been seeded 9th and 11th, respectively, in the 20th Asian Individual Championships which will be held in Kuala Lumpur from May 1 to 5.
According to the draws released on Wednesday, both the players got byes in the first round. Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) conducted trials at the Mushaf Squash Complex, Islamabad, and selected Tayyab and Asim for the championship. The Asian Squash Federation (ASF) has given two slots to each participating country. Zahir Shah is the reserve player, while Fazal Shah and Tahir Sultan will accompany the contingent as coach and manager, respectively. The contingent will depart for Malaysia on April 28.
Saurav Ghosal from India, who was the runner-up in the final last time, is the top seed of the men’s event while Yip Tsz Fung from Hong Kong China is the second seed. Top squash players from the region will use their whole bag of tricks for individual glory at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur.
The championships have attracted 78 players from Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Pakistan hosted the 17th edition of the championship in Islamabad in 2013, which was won by Amir Atlas Khan. It was after 14 years that Pakistan had secured the top slot at that level. Pakistan had also won the title in 1998 when Zarak Jahan Khan defeated Kenneth Low in Kuala Lumpur. Zarak was also the winner in 1994. The other Pakistanis to have won the championship are Jahangir Khan, Qamar Zaman and Mir Zaman Gul — each of them clinched the title twice.
