ISLAMABAD
The Pakistan squash Federation (PSF) has put itself into an unwanted and awkward position as it has yet remained fail to name the squad for the World Squash Team Championship. The PSF is supposed to submit the team to World Squash Federation till today (Sunday) for the World Team Squash Championship starting from June 9 in France and failing to do so may force the world body to impose heavy fine or even ban Pakistan.
The PSF went to hold the trials for the world team event just days after Pakistan got back the Asian championship crown through Amir Atlas Khan after a lapse of 15 years without giving any exemption to its top players who showed their mettle in the Asian squash event. Bowing to the pressure from provincial associations and some former players, who wanted to induct their blue-eyed persons as well as relatives in the team, the PSF had forced the top players to appear in the trial matches against their own rules. Smelling the conspiracy, top-ranked players unanimously refused to appear in the trials and asked the PSF to choose the squad as per regulations like the past.
The PSF went ahead to hold the trials and decided to choose only one player from the squad to accompany with the senior players. Upon this, the junior players also refused to appear in the trials and their ‘well-wishers’ kept forcing the PSF to select the whole squad only from the trials and discipline the senior players as it was only the way in for their ‘loved ones’ in the team.
In an effort to keep these associations and ex-players in hand and getting the top players on board, PSF Senior Vice President Syed Razi Nawab Saturday made a last ditch effort as he travelled to Peshawar to pursue Aamir Atlas and Farhan Mahboob to appear in the trials but failed to get their allegiance. Meanwhile, no player appeared in the trials which were supposed to be held on Saturday, leaving the federation undecided and in a fix.
According to the squash circles, it would have been a wiser decision if the PSF had announced squad like past on the basis of players current rankings and form instead of holding trials. It is believed that sending an unexperienced team would certainly produce embarrassing results for Pakistan and top four players including Aamir Atlas, Farhan Mahboob, Nasir Iqbal and Danish Atlas should have been given green signal to represent the country.
The PSF antics and lack of decision power has already hampered Pakistan chances in the event as the players and coach would have less time to prepare for the mega event. Its time for PSF president Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt to come forward and bring some sanity in the PSF decisions as the repute of country as well as the federation is at stake.