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PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s top ranked squash players Aamir Atlas and Farhan Mehmood will represent Pakistan in the forthcoming Swedish Open to be held from February 3-8.
Pakistan No. 1 and world no. 29 Aamir and National Games gold medalist and world no. 32 Farhan are in the main round of the Swedish Open which carroes cash prize money of US $ 60,000.
Talking to APP, Aamir Atlast Khan said that he had lost in the quarter-final to Mohammed El Shorbagy of Egypt and because of the no ranking event in Pakistan his and Farhan’s rankings slipped, causing tough draws in international events like the Swedish Open and Virginia Open.
Flanked by Farhan, Aamir said that they have been placed in the main rounds of the Swedish Open and Virginia Open and are hoping to put up a better performance.
Aamir and Farhan have a four-hour training session each - divided in two different phases - morning and evening.
“I have a tough draw as compared to Farhan in both the Swedish Open and Virginia Open but playing against tough opponents would give us a chance to learn more about the game,” he added.
Farhan, who stunned Aamir in the recently concluded 31st National Games team Championship, said that he is training under his father Mehboob Khan and there were chances to get the desired result.
They said that the victory at the 16th Asian Games was a dream come true as Pakistan squash had not won any major title in the past many years. Farhan Mehboob laid the foundation of Pakistan’s victory by beating Malaysian star Ong Beng Hee by 3-0 in just 23 minutes.
Aamir Atlas Khan took revenge of his defeat in the individual final against Azlan Iskandar as he defeated the Malaysian star 3-0 in 44 minutes.
He also lauded the role of the President of the Pakistan Squash Federation who provided them with all the facilities while playing the ranking event abroad.
“Playing the international ranking events also helps us improve our ranking,” both Aamir and Farhan added.
Aamir had the highest ranking of no. 14 in September 2009 which drastically slipped to 29 due to a decrease in participation in ranking events.
Mehboob Khan, father of Farhan, said Farhan and Aamir will leave for Sweden to take part in the Swedish Open on January 31 as the event would be played from February 3-8 and after that they would proceed to USA for the Virginia Open to be played from February 21-28.
