ISLAMABAD: Pakistan squash great Jansher Khan questioned the
country’s national academy’s contribution as he heavily criticised the
poor performances of local players in the recently concluded Pakistan
Open and CAS International Women Championship.
No
Pakistani players made it to the quarter-final stage of the Pakistan
Open with top-ranked Farhan Mehboob falling out in the first stage and
the likes of Farhan Zaman, Ahsan Ayaz and Tayyab Aslam getting
eliminated on the second day of the tournament only.
Jansher
believed the reason behind the disastrous performances was that the
Pakistan National Squash Academy (PNSA) was not producing enough
quality.
“PNSA should be closed and Pakistan Squash
Federation (PSF) president Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman should ask for
meticulous inquiry of the whole situation to learn about the root cause
of the academy players’ failure,” Jansher, who won the World Open a
record eight times and the British Open six times, said in a statement
issued on Monday.
Jansher said the PNSA trained players
should have put up a much better show considering the facilities that
are installed in the academy.
The 48-year-old said
earlier players used to qualify for quarter-finals and semi-finals in
Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournaments, but after the
establishment of the academy, there is no improvement in performances
and even now players face exit in first round of tournaments.
However,
Jansher appreciated the first ever staging of a 25,000 USD Women
Championship in the country and regarded it as a welcome initiative for
the success of Pakistan women squash.
He also expressed
delight over the return of the 50,000 USD Pakistan Open after a decade.
The world record holder also requested PSF to give due preference to
Balochistan Squash Association, as it has been giving preference to
other associations.
Jansher Khan also lauded the role of the PSF President for taking steps for betterment of the game in the country.
