December 23, 2001	Sunday	Shawwal 7, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 22: Air Marshal Syed Qaiser Hussain, senior vice president of Pakistan Squash Federation is pinning a lot of hopes on the current crop of junior players.

Speaking at a reception Saturday to bid adieu to the junior players who will be taking part in the Scottish and British Opens, Qaiser said the boys were all talented but would require time before they come into international spotlight.

“It would not be right to expect results from them at this point of time, but yes in at least two years from now we might see stars emerge from this lot.”

“We are investing in them with an eye on the future and I am confident that our efforts would yield results,” Qaiser said.

The juniors, eleven of them, are set to leave for London Sunday where they will compete first in the Scottish Open and then the Junior British Open.

Meanwhile, Qaiser said that Muhammad Yasin, a one-time coach of former world champion Jansher Khan, had officially been appointed incharge of the senior squad.

Qaiser however was not willing to disclose the financial side of the deal struck with Yasin, who is based in England.

The PSF had turned to Yasin after negotiations with Faheem Gul and Jamshed Gul failed with both demanding hefty salaries in American dollars to train the senior team.

Qaiser seemed upset with the attitude of both Faheem and Jamshed. “We simply could not pay them the kind of money they were demanding and therefore had to look for other options.

He said that Yasin had been “very reasonable” and was quite keen to help Pakistan become the dominant force it used to be.

Qaiser disclosed that the PSF were expecting a grant of Rs 30 million from the government which would help ease things a bit.

The PSF is said to be tight on cash but despite this they are fully sponsoring the 11 junior players headed for London.

Talking about next March’s Pakistan Open, Qaiser said that preparations were on track. “Order for a four side glass wall court has been placed and once it arrives, it will be installed at the Garrison Club where the event is to be staged.”

The Pakistan Open was initially to be held last November but had to be postponed because of the situation that emerged following the events of September 11 in the United States.