Pakistan squash players lack confidence, consistency

KARACHI: Pakistan’s squash players are inconsistent because they lack confidence, not because they play fewer international events than other players of the world.
An analysis of victories of top five players of the country disclosed that they usually failed to maintain momentum and sometimes spent years to register their next victories.
Aamir Atlas Khan has so far won nine PSA events. His first victory was Cas International in 2007 and his next title came after a gap of one year when he won COAS International Squash Championship in 2008.
The same year he won — not at a stretch, though — two more events, Cas International Squash Championship 2008 and Pakistan Open Squash Championships 2008.
His next title win came in 2010 when he clinched PSF CAA Pakistan International Squash Circuit-II. One year later, he won Pakistan Circuit No IV in December 2011.
In 2012, he won COAS International in April and CAS International in September.
His last title triumph came in February 2013 when he won 5th Kish Persian Gulf Cup.
Farhan Mehboob has won five titles. His first two victories were President PSF International Squash Championship and CNS International in 2008.
Then he struggled for two years and won Jena Real Estate Squash Champs in 2010.
He won CAS International in September 2011 and again spent two years before winning his next title, that of CNS International Pakistan Circuit-IV in December 2013.
Nasir Iqbal first won Pakistan International Squash Circuit No 1 and after one year, in 2012, he clinched the title of Royal Lake Club Open in October and Pakistan International Circuit-IV in December.
In 2013, he won DHA Karachi International Squash Championship in March and POF Pakistan Circuit-II in June.
He struggled for one more year and then won Emerson Racquet Club Pro Series 2014 in January and FMC Pakistan International Circuit-I in March.
He was able to win two events in a row in April this year when he won CNS International Squash Championship and FMC International Pakistan.
Farhan Zaman’s first victory was in Milad Open in July 2011. He spent two years in international arena before winning CAS International Squash Championship in September 2013.
He won The Chicago Open 2013 in October and then again had a gap of two years before grabbing the trophy at Any Presence Open in October this year.
Danish Atlas Khan started his career with three titles in a row. In 2011, he won Kish Persian Gulf Cup and Fajr Open in February and Norooz International in March.
Then he too lost confidence and managed to win Al Khaliji PSA Squash Challenger in January 2012. He then won First Insurance Squash Open in October 2013 and Kish Persian Gulf Cup in February 2014. His last title victory was Pakistan International Squash Circuit-II which he won in August 2014.