Qatar’s Syed Azlan wins Aspire PSA Satellite Tournament

The second Aspire Academy Professional Squash Association (PSA) Satellite Tournament reached an exciting crescendo on Thursday as some of the best players from Qatar battled it out against visiting players from Spain and Jordan.
Qatar’s Syed Azlan Amjad clinched the title after a tough final against Umair Zaman in a game that finished 11-8, 11-7, 11-9.
The tournament took place at the Academy’s squash courts from March 21 to 23. It featured 16 PSA registered players including the Qatar number two and defending champion Syed Azlan Amjad, who won the inaugural event last year.
A number of student athletes and former graduates from the Academy also took part including Abdulrahman al-Malki, ranked 341 in the world, Hamad al-Amri, Rashid al-Harib, Abdulaziz al-Ishaq and Waleed Zaman.
Six Spanish players also participated in the tournament, including Kike Garcia and Xurxo Codesito Perez who both impressed during the event.
Aspire Academy’s student athletes put in a number of strong performances during the final stage of the tournament.
Syed Azlan Amjad secured his place in the final after defeating the former world 70th seeded player, Mohamed El-Said from Jordan. Meanwhile, Umair Zaman, ranked 292nd in the world, progressed to the final after defeating Hamad al-Amari.
Commenting on the tournament, Aspire Academy player Hamad al-Amari highlighted his ambition to boost his PSA world ranking. He said: “I have a tournament in Luxembourg next month and I hope to increase my world ranking. My target is a place within the top 300.”
Describing his involvement, Qatari player Syed Azlan Amjad said: “This tournament is great experience for all the participants. On the one hand, it provides an opportunity to improve our PSA rankings. It also featured great players from countries such as Spain, giving us the chance to compete against other strong talents from elsewhere in the world.”
Spanish player Gonzalo Romero also said: “I’m really impressed by the quality of the facilities, and the standard of players at Aspire Academy.
“To be able to hold a training camp here and to take part in this PSA Satellite tournament has been really beneficial for us. We’ll take the experience of playing against some of country’s top players at Aspire forward, and I’m sure it will help improve our game.”