Pakistani Players Gear up for World Open Squash in Kuwait
The $277,500 Kuwait Men’s World Open promises an all-star player lineup as it begins competition on November 1. Top players from different countries are expected to participate including world number one Karim Darwish of Egypt and number eight Thierry Lincou of France.
This means that the three Pakistani bets will be facing tough competition in the early rounds of competition in this prestigious squash tournament.
Peshawar-based player Mansoor Zaman will have to give his best shot in the first round as he faces Darwish. Qualifier Yasir Butt will face Lincou in the first round. The third Pakistani hopeful is Aamir Atlas Khan. The country’s highest ranked player is seeded sixteenth in the competition and will face Germany’s Simon Rosner in the first round.
The Professional Squash Association (PSA) announced that there will be a new world number one by the time the tournament begins. This was based on the performance made by one player at last week’s Hong Kong Open.
France’s Gregory Gaultier will become the new number one next week after reaching the Hong Kong Open final. He will effectively replace Darwish by then. However, in this tournament, he will still be seeded second.
Gaultier is the second squash player from France to ever achieve the top ranking, next to Lincou. France is also the fifth country, after Egypt, England, Pakistan and Australia, to have had two or more players who reached the top of the rankings.
Gaultier will certainly want to build a lead in the rankings and will have to get past by Scottish player Alan Clyne to avoid a first round defeat. He’s projected to face defending champion Ramy Ashour in the semifinals and could face Darwish in a blockbuster final by November 7.
