Pakistan’s star squash players Noor Zaman and Asim Khan asked for accommodation help in Ireland so that they could participate in two tournaments that will be conducted in the two cities of Ireland including Galway and Dublin.
Top-seeded Asim Khan and also Noor Zaman were sixth-seeded entered the West of Ireland Open from April 16 to April 20.
The two national squash stars will also participate in the $20,000 Irish Squash Open that is scheduled in Ireland from April 23-27. Noor is to face wildcard Sam Buckley from Ireland while Asim got a bye in the first round.
Asim Khan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, for help so that he and his partner could get the accommodation on time ahead of the ‘West of Ireland Open’ and ‘Irish Squash Open’.
Salam everyone!! Me or @Noorzaman2004 Ireland me 2 tournaments me participate krahe hai. Hum dono ko pehle GALWAY or phir DUBLIN Me accomodation ki zarurat hai from 14-28 April 24, Agar koi wahan rehta or ya koi arrange karwa skta to please raabta karen. Stay in Ireland is way…
— Muhammad Asim Khan (@asimkhansquash) April 3, 2024
It is quite evident that the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF), the national governing body for Squash in Pakistan, could not arrange accommodation for the two stars who are going to represent Pakistan in two major tournaments.
Noor Zaman is the grandson of former squash player Qamar Zaman and he bagged the silver medal with team Pakistan in the 2022 Asian Games that were held in Hangzhou.
In addition to this, he also clinched the gold medal in the under-19 category of the Asian Junior Squash Championships two years ago and is regarded as one of the brightest young stars in Pakistan’s squash fraternity.
Asim Khan, 27, has three medals for Pakistan as a squash player but in return, the country has not given him any kind of facilities. He won the gold medal for the Pakistan team in the 2019 South Asian Games, the Silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, and the Bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
Despite the laurels won by these two national squash championships they still need to ask for help on social media and the federation has no money to facilitate them.
This is nothing special. It is normal to stay private when you are squash players. Even the best players in the world like World champions stay private when they travel. I my self have accommodated players at my place.