ASF President, Management Committee Members & the Asian Squash Fraternity

Wish Everyone Season’s Greetings & A Very Joyful, Healthy and Successful 2012

Asia had sixteen players among the top 100 women players in the world.
Leading the pack is Nicol David(MAS) who had another outstanding year winning 7 WISPA titles including a record setting sixth World Open title. She has stood on top of the World Ranking for the last 63 months without a break. Nicol reached a new milestone in her illustrious career when she was inducted into the WSF Hall of Fame – becoming the first active player in the history of the sport to be so honoured.
Annie Au(HKG) became only the second Asian women to make it into the World Top 10 ranking. She broke into the top 10 came in May 2011 and by November had achieved a career high No.7 position on the world ladder.
Low Wee Wern(MAS) at career high No.11 ranking would be targeting to move into world top 10 in 2012.
Young Indian lass Dipika Pallikal broke into the World top 20 in October 2011 and rounded the year at a career high No.17. Her win at the yearend Crocodile Challenge Cup at Hong Kong will see her moving further up the ranking list in 2012.
Joey Chan(HKG) is the fifth Asian in the World top 20 women players and much is expected from her in 2012.
Just outside the top 20 at No.21 is pretty Delia Arnold(MAS) who is yet to realize her true potential and 2012 would be her year of reckoning.

There were some good upward movement of Asian men on the PSA World Ranking at the end of 2011 with seventeen of the them making the top 100.
After making his top 20 world ranking debut in January 2005, it was not until this year that Mohd Azlan Iskandar(MAS) finally fulfilled his expectations by breaking into the top ten – celebrating a career-high world No10 ranking in March 2011. With good performances at 2011 year end championships he is expected to move further up the order in the January 2012 ranking list. Saurav Ghosal (IND) had an average year and is struggling to break into the top 20 while Aamir Atlas Khan(PAK) also had a mediocre year by his standards.
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan(MAS) had a great year when he captured the Asian title at the Asian Individual Championship in April 2011 at Penang, Malaysia. His good performances on the world tour moved him into the top 50 in March 2011 and at year end as moved further up to a career high No.37.
A young brigade of Asians namely Max Lee(HKG), Kamran Khan(MAS), Ivan Yuen(MAS) and Danish Atlas Khan(PAK) are beginning to making their presence felt and we hope for strong showings from them in 2012.

Willstrop makes it three in a row in Delhi and gets a Christmas bonus too ...

World Series event victories as he came from a game down to beat Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in the final of the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters in New Delhi, India. What a first game it was though, 58 minutes of tense, often brutal play with rarely more than a point between the pair of them even before the extended extra points, but it was Gaultier who finally took the lead after almost an hour.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/psamasters2011/today.htm

Third-seeded Dipika Pallikal denied the crowd at the Hong Kong Squash Centre the home title they wanted to see as the third-seeded Indian number one overcame HK's Joey Chan, the fourth seed, in a thrilling final of the 7th Crocodile Challenge Cup. The match went the full distance, with all five games featuring close finishes. Chan, the world number 20 who won the Macau Open before delighting the home crowd in reaching the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open last month, recovered from losing the first 10/12 to take the lead, winning the next two games 11/8, 12/10 and saving match balls in the process.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/crocodilecup2011.htm

Today, Friday 16th December 2011, is a red-letter day (literally!) for the newly-christened Women’s Squash Association, WSA - previously known as WISPA, the Women’s International Squash Players’ Association, as it reveals its new brand identity. In a dramatic and fresh presentation of the women’s game, the launch is led by a new logo which represents all that is best in the game: power, speed and athleticism.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/wsalogo.htm

10-Dec, Finals:
Highest world ranked Indian star Dipika Pallikal clinched her maiden national title when she dropped a game before winning against Tamil Nadu’s Anaka Alankamony 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7, while Defending men's champion Saurav Ghosal came from behind to beat HarinderPal Sandhu 8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-1 in the finals of the National Squash Championship here today.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/nicolpm.htm

WISPA is proud to announce that Malaysia's Nicol David, who has led the women's world rankings since 2006, has been honoured by her Prime Minister. Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak welcomed David at his office to congratulate the 28-year-old from Penang on creating history by winning a record sixth world title last month in the Netherlands.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/nicolpm.htm

Kuwait 50:Celebrating 50 years, here's 50 photos

Here the link: http://squashsite.jalbum.net/Kuwait%20Cup%2050/

James Willstrop claimed a second consecutive World Series title as he beat Karim Darwish for the second time in just over a week, this time in Kuwait City's Green Island rather than on the harbourfront in Hong Kong. At the time that was his biggest ever win, a record that lasted just over a week!

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/kuwaitcup/today.htm

It was a tough ask for 10th seed Raneem El Weleily to put an end to Nicol David's 34-match unbeaten streak in Hong Kong, and for two games in the first final of the evening at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre it looked as though the pressure had got to her.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/hk/today.htm

Top seeded Kuwaiti Abdullah Al Mezayen claimed his fifth PSA title as he overcame a strong Pakistani challenge in the Ali Bin Ali Qatar Challenger #1 event in Doha. With three of the four semi-finalists hailing from Pakistan, 23-year-old Al Mezayen beat Nasir Iqbal and then Farhan Zaman on the final day to claim the title, his fourth this year.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/qatarcircuit-1-2011.htm

At 2:04 pm local time, the warm-up was over and # 2 seed Alister Walker of Botswana served to Yasir Butt of Pakistan to start the match. Butt won the first three points, much to the cheering delight of the partisan crowd of local squash supporters with Pakistani connections. Chatting last night after his semi-final, Walker had stressed the importance of getting off to a strong start in order to avoid the trap Butt set for # 1 seed Adrian Grant of England in the upset semi-final last night, and it looked like he forgot this game plan for the first 3 rallies.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/dayton2011.htm

Follow the Hong Kong Squash Open 2011 at their dedicated website

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/hk/index.htm

Mohamed El Shorbagy, top seed in the Men's PSA $50k event, claimed the Macau Open title with an hour-long four-game victory over France's second seed Thierry Lincou. Twenty-year-old Shorbagy, the world No8 from Alexandria, recovered from a game down - as he had done in the previous three rounds - to shake off veteran Lincou, the 35-year-old former world champion ranked two positions lower.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/macau2011.htm

Malaysian squash star Nicol David reached a new milestone in her illustrious career when she was inducted into the World Squash Federation Hall of Fame - becoming the first active player in the history of the sport to be so honoured.

The induction was conducted by fellow countryman HRH Tunku Imran at a gala dinner in Rotterdam as part of the World Squash Awards programme at the 2011 World Open Championships. Imran, the WSF Patron and an IOC member, is himself a former Malaysian national squash champion.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=6827

WSF President N Ramachandran today stressed that innovation will be a core element of Squash’s campaign for inclusion into the 2020 Olympic Games. He also outlined the significant growth the sport has achieved in recent years and some of the major enhancements that have been introduced since Squash’s most recent campaign for Olympic inclusion for 2016. At the launch of its Olympic 2020 campaign in London, the WSF also revealed the campaign slogan - Squash: Sport at its Best

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=6776

ROTTERDAM: Nicol David created history by winning her sixth world title in emphatic fashion at the Luxor Theatre here yesterday with the promise of more to come.

The undisputed queen of world squash was in devastating form as she pulverised long-time rival and world No. 2 Jenny Duncalf of England 11-2, 11-5, 11-0 in just 29 minutes in the final of the World Open.

Article extracted from: http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2011/11/7/sports/9853476&sec=sports

Asian women players led by World No.1 Nicol David(MAS)have taken up five positions among the top 20 WISPA World Ranking players (November 2011, WISPA Ranking).

Following Nicol is Annie Au(HKG)at No.7, Low Wee Wern(MAS)at No.14, Dipika Pallikal(IND)at No.19 and Delia Arnold(MAS)at No.20. In fact at No.21 is another Asian, Joey Chan(HKG).

For Annie Au and Dipika the November 2011 ranking is their highest achieved.

The current circumstances in Egypt have forced the World Squash Federation to relocate the 2012 WSF Men's and Women's World Junior Individual and Men's Junior Team Squash Championships.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=6711

Malaysia's world number one Nicol David will be inducted into the World Squash Federation Hall of Fame as part of the World Squash Awards programme at the World Open Championship/WSF AGM dinner in Rotterdam on Saturday (5 November).

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=6725

The World Squash Federation (WSF) is launching Back the Bid 2020 to tap into the huge support that players, fans and corporate organisations are showing towards Squash's campaign to get the sport into the Olympic Games.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=6651

"Too fast," was Madeline Perry's instant verdict after Nicol David collected her fifth Qatar Classic title with a supreme performance in the final against the Northern Irish fourth seed playing in her first Doha final.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/qatar/today.htm

Pallikal faced her toughest tournament match in the final, but won in three games, completing a shut out of her opponents. Sarah-Jane Perry, the unseeded surprise finalist, proved in her loss that reaching the final was no fluke.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/dreadsports2-2011.htm

Low Wee Wern bagged her first Wispa Tour title in two years after beating Delia Arnold in an all-Malaysian final at the China Open in Shanghai.After sailing through to the final without dropping a game, Wee Wern was given her stiffest examination yet by Delia but still prevailed in four games for her fourth career title but first since December 2009 when she won two NSC Series titles back-to-back.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/chinaopen2011.htm

Natalie Grinham beats Annie Au at 7/11 9/11 12/10 11/8 11/8 - on October 14, 2011

Article extracted from: http://www.sitesquash.com/montecarlooct2011.htm

From the start of 2012, the PSA and WISPA World Tours - along with WSF World Championships - are mandating that referee decision cards and electronic consoles are used at major events, rather than hand signals.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=6476

The Women's World Open 2011 draw was made in Rotterdam yesterday in front of the distinguished guests and the Dutch media, and World no.1 and defending champion Nicol David was duly installed as top seed and favourite to lift her sixth title.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldopensquash2011.com/news_14.htm

Squash enthusiasts will now have the chance of enjoying the sport they love in the comfort of their own homes following the launch of WSF Squash, the official squash simulation video game of the World Squash Federation. Using the most modern software and hardware, the game is a realistic representation of the sport with great tactical aspects - and all shots can be played, including drives, corkscrews, boasts and more. Players can also play online matches against each other, or play at iconic locations - and an offline tournament mode allows users the chance to organise virtual tournaments during real events.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=6438

The annual squash extravaganza, one of the biggest events on the local sporting calendar, "Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Squash Open 2011" will take place at Hong Kong Squash Centre and Cultural Centre from November 13 to 22.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/hk/today.htm

Two new faces make their first appearance on top of their respective age categories in the October 2011 release of the Asian Junior Ranking. Hiu Lam LUI and Tsun Hei YUEN, both of Hong Kong, China, top the Under-11 Girls and the Under-15 Boys categories respectively. Both players won the Hong Kong Junior Open 2011 and followed-up by also winning the Indian Junior Open 2011. However, Hiu Lam shares the top position with fellow country girl, Sui Ting CHAN. Sui Ting has held the top position since the first ranking release in August, 2011.

In the October 2011 WISPA World Ranking release both Annie Au of Hong Kong and Dipika Pallikal of India reached a career high in their respective rankings.

Annie is now ranked 8th in the world, having made it into the top 10 in May of this year. Ranked 2nd in Asia she is also only the second Asian woman to have made it into the top ten.

Dipika Pallikal is ranked 20th and becomes the highest ever world ranked Indian, male or female. She is also now the 3rd highest ranked Asian leapfrogging from her previous 6th position.

The WSF’s new corporate logo is intended to achieve a clear, consistent visual identity that not only emphasises the position and role of the Federation, but also has the adaptability to enable it to be used in a variety of ways in respect of WSF programmes and initiatives.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=6028

India won 5 of the 10 titles at stake at the Indian Junior Open held in Chenani from 6-10 September 2011. The Indian Squash Academy trained Chennai lad Kush Kumar did the country proud by ousting the favourite and top seeded Jordanian Ahmed Alsaraj to win the Boy’s Under-17 title in the 3rd Indian Junior Squash championship here today.

Article extracted from: http://www.indiasquash.com/News/indian-junior-open-2011-1.asp

Mr N Ramachandran, President of the World Squash Federation, has been honoured by the government of India for his contribution to the growth and popularity of Squash.

Mr Ramachandran received the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar award from India’s President Pratibha Patil.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=5828

Different competitions have been organized by the association to allow the junior players to compete with each other and to prepare them for major competitions in the future. Hong Kong Junior Open, which is firstly organized in 1968, is one of the most popular junior events among the Asian countries and always attracted lots of overseas junior players to compete for the 10 division titles.

Article extracted from: http://www.hksquash.org.hk/inter_hkj_info.html

The first Asian Junior Ranking was released on 8th August, 2011. The ranking list is based on points secured in the Asian Junior Super Series which is made up of sanctioned Junior Open Championships in Asia. Points are also given to players participating in the Asian Junior Individual Championship.

The first released ranking list was based on the first three championships i.e. the Milo All Star Championship held at Petaling Jaya, Malaysia; the Penang International Junior Open Championship held at Penang, Malaysia and the 18th Asian Junior Individual Championship held at Amman, Jordan. With two of these championships being held in Malaysia, Malaysians had a head start topping five of the ten listed categories.

The ranking list will be updated every two months or earlier after two consecutive championships are held back-to-back.

Check the full ranking list on this website.

Three Asian teams were among the top six teams at the Women’s World Junior Squash Championship held from 20th – 30th July, 2011 at Boston, USA.

Egypt the favorites walked off with the team title with 2nd seed USA emerging runner-up.

Hong Kong, China secured a very creditable 3rd placing after turning the table on the higher seeded Indian team in the 3rd/4th playoff match. The Indian team can take consolation in having beaten the Hong Kong team in the earlier Pool match.

Malaysia were seeded 5th but emerged 6th after falling to England in the 5th/6th playoff match after having beaten them in the Pool match.

Overall the Asian teams had a very good Championship.

Annie Au underlines her status as Hong Kong’s highest ever ranked player in this month’s new WISPA world rankings, the 22 year old jumps up one place to reach a career high of nine.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/rankingsjul2011.htm

Adhitya Raghavan and Neharika Balamurukan, trainees at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai, won their maiden international squash titles in the Boys and Girls under 13 category respectively at the Iran Junior Open being held from 27th -30th June at the Engheleb Sports Complex, Tehran, Iran.

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/iranjunioropen2011.htm

Photos of top 4 placings in each age category

See all photos from left to right and read list from top to bottom

     BOYS UNDER-19
      Mahesh Mangaonkar(IND) - 3rd
      Ramit Tandon(IND) - Runner-up
      Danish Atlas Khan(PAK) - Champion
      Nasir Iqbal(PAK) - 3rd

     GIRLS UNDER-19
      Tan Yan Xin(MAS) - 3rd
      Tsz Wing Tong(HKG) - Runner-up
      Anaka Alankamony(IND) - Champion
      Aparajitha Balamurukan(IND) - 3rd

     BOYS UNDER-17
      Kush Kumar(IND) - 3rd
      Ahmad Khaleel Alsaraj(JOR) - Champion
      Syed Ali M Bukhari(Pak) - Runner-up
      Tayyab Aslam(Pak) - 3rd

     GIRLS UNDER-17
      Sue Ann Yong(MAS) - 3rd
      Ka Po Ho(HKG) - Champion
      Saumya Karki(IND) - Runner-up
      Ka Hei Chu(HKG) - 3rd

     BOYS UNDER-15
      Tsun Hei Yuen(HKG) - 3rd
      Mohd Syafiq Mohd Kamal(MAS) - Champion
      Ng Eain Yow(MAS) - Runner-up
      Darren Ti Luun Chan(MAS) - 3rd

     GIRLS UNDER-15
      Adya Advani(IND) - 3rd
      Uen Shan Choi(HKG) - Champion
      Jadeleen Lee Jiaee(MAS) - Runner-up
      Aika Azman(MAS) - 3rd

     BOYS UNDER-13
      Ranjit Singh(IND) - 3rd
      Mohd Farez Izwan Mohd Mukhtar(MAS) - Champion
      Mohammad Alsarraj(JOR) - Runner-up
      Shamil Wakeel(SRI) - 3rd

     GIRLS UNDER-13
      Zoe Yuk Han Foo(MAS) - 3rd
      Andrea Jia Qi Lee(MAS) - Runner-up
      Sivasangari Subramaniam(MAS) - Champion
      Satomi Watanabe(JPN) - 3rd

• 21.06.11 - 'First Day Highlights'
• 20.06.11 - 'Squash Championship Kicks Off in Amman'
• 22.06.11 - 'Day 2 of the 18th Asian Junior Championship'
• 23.06.11 - '3rd Day of 18TH Asian Junior Individual Championship'
• 24.06.11 - 'Semi-finals of 18th Asian Junior Individual Championships 2011'
• 26.06.11 - 'The finals of 18th Asian Junior Individual Championships 2011'

    Draws

• Boys - All Age Groups
• Girls - All Age Groups

   Results

   Photos

• Opening and 1st Day of Championship
• Day 2 of of Championship
• Trip to Dead Sea
• From the Championships
• The Prize Presentation Ceremony and the Closing Dinner Function

The World Squash Federation has added a new dimension to its world squash championships’ roster with the launch of the WSF Under-21 World Cup.
The inaugural U21 World Cup - an entirely new biennial event introducing a new age-group category in the sport - will take place in Chennai, India, from 1-5 February 2012.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=5070

Article extracted from: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/blankknightopen2011.htm

There is now a World Junior Circuit integrating National Junior Opens, Regional and World Junior Championships, together with World Under-19 quarterly Rankings for the players.
In essence, WSF will register events, but not become involved in their seeding or management; then take the Under-19 results to produce Rankings. Full details are below.

Article extracted from: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?page_id=4753

Interview with Japanese #1 squash player Misaki Kobayashi

Darwish and David claim KL titles
Top seeds Karim Darwish and Nicol David became the KL Open champions for 2011 as both completed straight-game victories in their finals against Mohamed El Shorbagy and Madeline Perry respectively.

Joey Chan and Aaron Frankcomb collected the China Open titles in contrasting fashion. While Chan needed all five games to subdue Lisa Camilleri in the women's final, Frankcomb eased past Kristian Frost in straight games.

Second-seeded Australian Donna Urquhart denied the local crowd an Au family double in the Buler Challenge Cup when she upset Hong Kong's top seed Annie Au in the final of the women's  event in Hong Kong.

With #1seed and world ranked 14 Azlan Iskandar from Malaysia trying to win this event after losing in the final in 2008 to John White, and qualifier and world ranked 61, on his way back after a career threatening injury, Borja Golan from Spain, the winner here in Dublin in 2006, this promised to be a really good battle, and it proved to be even more worthy of this description – it was a war, albeit friendly, of attrition.

With over 400 hundred crowding to witness the final match of the tournament, second seed Tong Tsz-wing won the HK junior title in her home town by upsetting the top seed Malaysian Low Wee Nee in 3-1 in the Girls Under 19 final.