Doha: The qualifying rounds of the Qatar Classic Championship - the second stop of the 2015-16 PSA World Series season – will take place on October 29 and 30, officials of Qatar Squash Federation (QSF) said here yesterday.
“Thirty two players will be competing in the qualifying rounds for two days. Eight players will make it to the main draw from the qualifying. The 32 players in the main draw will consist of eight qualifiers, 24 seeded players and wildcard holders,” said Gamal Rasmi Technical Secretary of QSF and who is also the media-in-charge of the combined PSA and WSA event.
Rasmi said that the matches will supervised by eight referees Graham Waters ( Australia), John Massarella (England), Jamshed Khan (Pakistan), Ralf Harenberg (Germany), Tomas Forter (Austria), Wayne Smith ( Canada), Marko Podgorsek (Poland) and Srikant Seshadri (India).
“Matches of the main draw, in both the PSA and WSA, will start from October 31 and the finals will be held on November 6,” added Rasmi.
In the PSA section, three-time World Squash Champion Ramy Ashour heads the list of competitors heading to Doha.
Ashour defied all logic and belief as he completed his hat trick of World Championship crowns following a mesmerising encounter with World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy in front of a capacity crowd at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex last year.
The duo will be looking to recapture the form of that event when they set foot in Qatar again on October 31, for what will be the 14th consecutive year of PSA World Tour action in Doha.
With all of the world’s top players, including Nick Matthew, Gregory Gaultier and Miguel Angel Rodriguez, in the draw the 2015 Qatar Classic has the potential to deliver the same drama and excitement witnessed in the venue 12 months ago and this season will also see the return of top level women’s squash to Doha - with the women’s PSA World Series returning to the Khalifa Stadium for the first time since 2011.
2011 champion Nicol David will be aiming to continue her dominant form, having taken six of the previous seven titles available in Qatar, but will be up against new World No.1 Raneem El Welily in what looks to be a compelling women’s draw.
The joint-event will bring over 100 of the world’s finest squash practitioners to Doha for a jam-packed week that will see over 100 matches played out over six days to the delight of the tournament organisers.
“We’re very pleased to welcome the best squash players in the world to Doha once again for what promises to be a fantastic tournament, building on the success of last year’s astounding World Championship, and to welcome the best female players back to Doha for the first time since 2011,” said Qatar Squash Federation president Nabeel Bin Ali.
“Qatar continues to grow as a squash nation year-on-year and we are delighted to continue our support of the PSA World Tour for another year in what is a brand new era of joint-governance for the sport.”
Meanwhile, Talal Al Mawlawi has been appointed as Tournament Director while the Marketing Committee will be headed by Imad Hashim.
Various other committees have been formed for the smooth conduct of the championship including Players Services, which will have Alaa Eldeen Allouba as the chief, while Rashad Badawi and Tarek Emam will look after the Finance and Venue.
The PSA will be sending two representatives for the tournament, Alex Gouh and Lee Beachel, where the total prize money is $128250. The prize money for the WSA event is $95,000.
The Peninsula
