ISLAMABAD-The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) continues to neglect women squash and players as neither they were discussed in its recently-held annual general meeting nor any special incentives were announced for them.
Such a step-motherly treatment of the federation shows that it is least bothered about promotion of women squash and players and just focusing on male players, who despite getting a lot of incentives and facilities, yet unable to regain lost glory of Pakistan squash.
The federation’s AGM, which inducted Qamar Zaman and Tahir Khanzada as its vice presidents for the next four years, discussed their achievements which were mostly at Asian levels not world squash level and also their plans for the second phase of 2016 but surprisingly, no one briefed the PSF president Air Chief Marash Sohail Aman about depriving female players of featuring in the Asian Senior Team Squash Championship despite conducting trials for this event.
Moreover, not a single female player, with only exception of Maria Toor, was sponsored by the federation for the PSA events, as Sammer Anjum, Riffat Khan and Sadia Gul took part in the PSA events at their own. Female squash is the least priority of the federation.
Another area that the PSF really needs to focus on is non-professional behaviour of the federation with top-professional coaches who after getting frustrated preferring to leave the country. The expert and successful coaches like Jamshed Gul and Faheem Gul turned their backs on the country and shifted to the USA. In the absence of such a professional coaches, Pakistan squash future looks highly bleak. Now there is not a single qualified coach left in Pakistan and it will almost impossible for the federation to fill the void left by first Jamshed and now with Faheem’s departure.
The behaviour of non-professional officials of the PSF not only disappointed the coaches, but also the top squash players like Aamir Atlas and Danish Atlas, who also opted to leave the country and settled in the USA. If the PSF really wants to achieve its goals of regaining past squash glory, it must recall them from USA and address their genuine concerns. The country has been facing acute shortage of quality players and only Farhan Zaman and Farhan Mehboob can’t win titles for Pakistan, so Aamir and all others should be recalled and asked to contribute in achieving laurels for the country.
It is also regrettable that the federation didn’t take Nasir Iqbal’s issue seriously, as he has been suffering for the last four months or so and there is no end to his miseries in near future. The PSF should have taken his case on war footings, instead of leaving him at his own.
Now the PSF has been facing a situation where so-called coaches and referees are more than double in numbers than the players. The situation is alarming for the federation which must wake up, or else all the past achievements will only be remembered is history books.