ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) is keeping mum on the pathetic performance of junior players in the recently-concluded WSF World Junior Squash Championships 2017 in Tauranga, New Zealand.
Interestingly, instead of accepting the worst performance of the players, PSF honorary secretary Group Captain Tahir Sultan and head coach Faheem Gul have been terming the results as satisfactory. Earlier, both had made tall claims regarding providing over–the-moon training and facilities to the junior players at the Pakistan National Squash Academy (PNSA), but their pathetic results exposed all their tall claims. There is a dire need to explain such pathetic results and flopped coaching, but PSF president Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman and senior vice president Air Marshal Shahid Akhtar Alvi are keeping mum on such important issue.
The money, which is being invested on the squash players, is tax-payers money, so it must be used in the best possible way. The PSF never bothered to inform the sports journalists about criteria of inducting coaches, players, referees and officials and no one knows the criteria of picking up players for the PNSA. The federation is answerable to the masses and media, so they must do their work sincerely and honestly.
It was never witnessed in the history of Pakistan squash that such pathetic results were shown by the Pakistani players. It is true that last time great Jansher Khan lifted the World Junior title way back in 1986, but it is also true that during that long period, one or another Pakistani player managed to play final or even semifinals and a number of others played in the quarterfinals, but this was till date the worst performance and made the things further shady.
The PSF didn’t bother to take action against all the four players Mansoor Zaman Junior, Zeeshan Zeb, Abdul Malik Imran and Abbas Zeb along with flopped coach Faheem Gul and manager Tahir Sultan. All landed quietly in Islamabad and after lapse of almost a week, no action against them was taken.
When this scribe contacted Tahir Sultan to seek his point of view regarding poor showing of players and as a secretary and manager, what he had mentioned in his report and who is to be held responsible for the pathetic results, he replied: “We had selected team on merit, but unfortunately, two players were declared overage after medical reports, while the opponents were highly experienced and our players couldn’t perform well.”
Instead of accepting his failure and removing the responsible from the post, Tahir Sultan was defending the culprits and refused to take any action on coaching staff, rather he defended them whole-heartedly.
It seems the coaches are more important for the PSF rather than country’s prestige. Ever since the federation abolished the head coach post in 2014, Pakistan squash is going down with each passing day. The office-bearers are always busy in promoting themselves, rather than keeping a close eye on sorry-state-of-affairs. They are busy in protecting those people, who enjoy close relations with former greats.
The federation is at war with Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh squash associations and only KP squash association is free of controversies and that is because former world champion Qamar Zaman is handling the affairs or else same situation could have been witnessed there as well.
Air Commodore (r) Aftab Qureshi is doing a fantastic job of running the PNSA in befitting manner, but he must be given more powers to ensure future of Pakistan remain in safe hands. A few persons are already raising their voice against Aftab, as he is ensuring discipline and not ready to back off from principle stance of ensuring rules and regulations followed in true letter in spirit.
It is high time when the federation must hire internationally-reputed coach, who must be handed over long-term contract to change the fast declining fortunes of squash, or else all the past glory days would only be remembered in history books. It is high time when PSF president Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman must take action and put Pakistan squash on right track.