Pakistan’s Noor Zaman (left) might be seen in motion through the qualifying spherical of the British Open Squash Championship in opposition to Egypt’s Kareem El Torkey on this undated picture. — Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan will host its most profitable squash match in over twenty years to start out the 12 months 2026, marking a major step within the sport’s return to a rustic that when dominated the worldwide sport.
The Karachi Open, a PSA World Tour Gold occasion providing a complete prize purse of round $243,000, shall be held January 6-11 on the DA Creek Membership — the venue that earlier staged the World U23 Championships in April this 12 months. It’s the first top-tier PSA occasion in Pakistan in twenty years.
The lads’s and girls’s competitions will every carry prize cash of $121,500. Organisers stated that 5 of the world’s prime 10 male gamers and three of the highest 10 girls have signed on, underscoring Pakistan’s re-emergence as a viable vacation spot for elite squash.
Former world champion and present World No 5 Karim Abdel Gawad of Egypt will lead the lads’s draw as prime seed. Gawad is chasing his third title on Pakistani soil, having beforehand gained the Pakistan Open in 2018 and the Karachi Open in 2022. His eight-match profitable streak in Karachi makes him one of many clear favourites.
World No 7 Marwan ElShorbagy is seeded second, adopted by World No 6 Youssef Ibrahim and former World No 1 Mohamed ElShorbagy, now representing England. World No 11 Mohamed Zakaria completes the highest six seeds.
Pakistan shall be represented by rising World U23 champion Noor Zaman, together with Muhammad Ashab Irfan, Tayyab Aslam, and Nasir Iqbal. Tayyab and Nasir are wild-card entrants to the match.
Within the girls’s discipline, Egypt’s World No 3 and reigning World Junior Champion Amina Orfi headlines the draw. Malaysia’s World No 6 Sivasangari Subramaniam is seeded second, whereas Egypt’s World No 9 Fayrouz Aboelkheir is the third seed. Native wild playing cards Sana Bahadar and Mariam Malik will compete in the principle draw.
The occasion marks Pakistan’s most costly squash match because the 2003 World Open in Lahore, which carried a $175,000 purse. Karachi has been slowly rebuilding its presence on the worldwide circuit, internet hosting the World U23 Championships in April with $60,000 in prize cash.
For Pakistan, as soon as dwelling to legends like Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan, the return of high-profile PSA occasions highlights the funding within the sport. Officers hope the PSA World Tour Gold match Karachi Open will speed up the revival of aggressive squash in a rustic looking for to reconnect with its historic previous.
