MUSARAT ULLAH JAN
PESHAWAR: Senior Squash Coach Tahir Iqbal Khan and two promising young players, Danish Sikander and Ubaid Ullah, from the Directorate General of Sports, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have been selected as members of Pakistan’s five member contingent. The team has departed for Egypt to participate in the prestigious Egyptian Junior Open Squash Championship 2026, followed by a three-week high-performance training camp under the guidance of renowned Egyptian coach Omer Abdel Aziz. The training camp is considered one of the most valuable learning opportunities for emerging international players and coaches, offering exposure to Egypt’s world-leading squash system.
Speaking before departure, Senior Coach Tahir Iqbal Khan expressed his pride and gratitude over the selection.
“It is a great honour for me and my two students, who have represented Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with distinction in national events, to be selected for this prestigious championship and training camp. We have worked relentlessly over the past five to six years, and Alhamdulillah, our players have consistently delivered outstanding performances at both the national and international levels.
“This opportunity is truly special because we are travelling to the home of the current world champions in men’s, women’s, and junior squash. Today, Egypt is the global benchmark in squash, and the entire world is learning from its coaching methods and development system. I am eager to learn as much as possible and bring that knowledge back to Pakistan to contribute to the development of our players, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
He also expressed his sincere appreciation to the Directorate General of Sports, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and thanked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Squash Association for its encouragement.
Coach Tahir reserved special praise for the Markhor Squash Foundation and the BARD Foundation, acknowledging their amazing support to players especially from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and their role in making the training camp possible and arranging the team’s visas within a remarkably short time.
The participation of the Pakistani contingent in the Egyptian Junior Open and the elite training camp is expected to provide invaluable international exposure and enhance the technical and tactical development of both players and coaches, ultimately benefiting the future of squash in Pakistan.
