International squash returns to city after two years

Kolkata, Oct 24 (UNI) The second edition of Kolkata International Squash Tournament will be HELD in February next year, featuring some of the top players from the sub-continent, including Amir Atlas Khan of Pakistan and Ritwik Bhattacharya of India.

Dalip Tripathy, spokesperson for the organisers, told UNI, ''We are happy that the tournament is back after a gap of two years.'' While Amir Atlas Khan, Ritwik Bhattacharya and Sourav Ghosal could be considered to be a certainty, a couple of Egyptians, Malaysians and Europeans could spice up the competition.

''The main problem we face is raising sponsors. However, that has been taken care of with the new administration working tirelessly to put together the tournament. The on site prize money for the tournament would be 27,000 dollars,'' he added.

The first edition of this Tier-III tournament was held in September 2005 and was a huge success.

Mohammed. Azlan Iskander of Malaysia won the tournament. Shahier Razik of Canada was the first runners-up.

He also informed that at least three to four players from the top 20 would take part in the tournament depending on their availability. But he failed to give names as there is still two months and rankings change fast.

Detailing about the tournament, Dalip said the final draw would be of 16 with 11 players according to the rankings in descending order getting direct entry. The 12th position is reserved for an Indian wild card. The remaining four positions would be up for grab from the qualifiers.

There will be 16 qualifiers vying for the top four spots, he added.

The tournament has already been registered with the Professional Squash Association and is in the next year's calender, Dalip informed.

UNI