Qatar Squash Federation officials speak to the media ahead of the Qatar Classic yesterday.
By Satya Rath/Doha
World number two Gregory Gaultier of France leads the list of top names in world squash for the 13th edition of the Qatar Classic, the seventh PSA World Series event of the year, to be played at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex from November 10-15.
However, there would be no women’s action at this year’s event. The organizers, while giving no particular reason behind the omission, said it was just a one-off thing and that the world’s top women would be back next year.
The six-day event, with a prize purse of $150,000, will be preceded by two days of qualifying. The top eight qualifiers would then join the 24-strong main draw.
Abdulla Mohd al-Tamimi is Qatar’s lone hope in the main draw. Al-Tamimi, ranked 108th in the world, has been given a wild card. The 18-year-old is the rising star of Qatar squash. Coached by squash legend Geoff Hunt, al-Tamimi was the oil-rich country’s first ever semi-finalist at the World Junior Championships earlier this year in Poland. Two more local hopes – Abdulrahman al-Malki and Ahmed Mohammed al-Tamimi – could join the main draw of 32 if they manage to make it through the qualifying rounds.
Besides Gaultier, some of the other big names in the main draw include England’s James Willstrop and Nick Matthew, Egypt’s Karim Darwish, Mohamed Elshorbagy, Amr Shabana and Tarek Momen, and Spain’s Borja Golan.
Since its inception in 2001, the Qatar Classic has established itself as one of the squash calendar’s premier events, featuring the likes of the great Peter Nicol (2001 and 2002) and former World No. 1 Lee Beachill (2003) amongst its champions.
