Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022 to Get Underway on 15 March

Karachi is set to host another high-profile international sporting event with the Karachi Open Squash Championship taking place from 15-19 March 2022.

The main draws for the 2022 Karachi Open Squash Championship see former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad and France’s Enora Villard heading the men’s and women’s draws, respectively.

The male event is a PSA World Tour Bronze tournament, while the female competition is a PSA Challenger Tour 20 tournament.

Former World Champion Gawad leads the men’s draw and will be looking to claim his first title since 2019. The Egyptian will face the winner of home favorite Asim Khan and England’s Declan James in his first match of the tournament as he receives a bye in round one.

World No. 16 Youssef Soliman from Egypt is the number two seed. Soliman, a recent quarter-finalist at the Houston Open, will open his account against the winner of Spain’s Bernat Jaume and event wildcard Muhammad Ashab Irfan from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s best chance of a home winner comes in the form of World No. 44 Tayyab Aslam. The nation’s No.1 will face up and coming Egyptian Yahya Elnawasany in his first-round match. The pair last met at the Egyptian Open in September, with the Egyptian winning 3-1 in 38 minutes to level the head-to-head record at 1-1.

France’s Enora Villard is the number one seed for the female event. The French No. 4 recently lost out to Georgina Kennedy from England in the last 16 of the Cleveland Classic and will be looking to improve on that performance in Karachi. Villard will play either Pakistan’s Zaynab Khan or New Zealand’s Kaitlyn Watts in her opening match of the event.

England’s Lucy Beecroft is one to watch in the event. The World No. 62 won two events in 2021 and will be determined to add to that tally in 2022. Beecroft receives a bye in round one but will face either wildcard Anam Mustafa Aziz or Serbia’s Jelena Dutina in round two.

No. 3 seed Marie Stephan is entering the Challenger 20 event full of confidence as the 25-year-old recently won her first French Nationals title, beating Enora Villard in the final. Stephan will play Pakistan’s Amna Fayyaz or Malaysia’s Yee Xin Ying for a place in the quarter-finals.

Pakistan Rangers Sindh will collaborate with the event organizers for providing foolproof security arrangements to all participants.

Chairman Sindh Squash Association and Emeritus President of World Squash Federation, Jahangir Khan, said, “The Sindh Squash Association is delighted to host the Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022. We are excited to collaborate with the ARY group who have always been huge supporters of sports in the country.

“We are all very excited to showcase Pakistan’s hospitality to a number of talented international squash players and I look forward to welcoming them in Karachi this March.”

Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022: Men’s Draw

Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022: Women’s Draw