November 6, 2002	Wednesday	Sha’aban 30,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 5: Air Marshal Syed Qaiser Hussain, senior vice president of the Pakistan Squash Federation Tuesday threatened to withdraw the support being extended to players Mansoor Zaman and Shahid Zaman if they did not improve their performance.

“This is the last chance for them and if they do not improve they are gone,” warned Qaiser while pointing out that the current crop of players had an attitude problem.

Both Mansoor and Shahid, who are cousins, are ranked No 21 and 28 in the world and have been a disappointment in recent major international tournaments drawing criticism from various quarters.

“The federation’s job is to provide an appropriate environment for the players to groom, the rest is up to them,” Qaiser said while speaking to Dawn in Islamabad.

“No federation in the world has done what the PSF has done for its players despite its meagre resources.”

Mansoor and Shahid draw 500 pounds a month from the PSF besides the air tickets for playing in the Surrey Buttel League in England.

The expenses on the training of the junior players on the other hand include a monthly salary of Rs 90,000 for coach Rehmat Khan and Rs 25,000 going to assistant coach Muhammad Ayaz Khan while the players are given a stipend of Rs 1000. “The food @ Rs 190 per head and shirts, shoes, rackets and socks are also provided by us,” Qaiser said.

Asked if he felt the players had let him down, he said: “I do not really blame them, we are going through a lean patch and will hopefully come out of this phase.”

Pakistan have encountered serious problems ever since champion Jansher Khan quit the sport in 1999 and today there is no Pakistani among the top 10.

Meanwhile Qaiser disclosed that the World Team Championship in 2005 had been allotted to Pakistan and will be staged either in Karachi or Islamabad.

There are plans to build an indoor complex next to the Roshan Khan courts in the premises of Pakistan Sports Complex, work on which is due to start after Eid. “The complex will have a four wall glass court with provision for another four. We will fund the entire project ourselves,” Qaiser said.

Money for the federation is on its way with a sum of Rs 30 million about to be released by the government in the next couple of months.

This money will be spent on building and improving infrastructure in Abbottabad, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Qaiser also spoke of Jahangir Khan, who was elected as the president of the World Squash Federation (WSF) last month in Kuala Lumpur. “The good thing about Jahangir being elected is that we will not be forgotten in squash as long as he is there.”

Jahangir, a record ten-time winner of the prestigious British Open will be at the helm of the international body for a term of three years. “We supported him wholeheartedly all along and the credit for his success must go to Air Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, president of PSF.”

Qaiser also disclosed that introduction of a bigger ball in squash was being considered in order to attract sponsors who have previously complained that the smaller ball is not visible on the television screen. “Dunlop is developing the new ball which it is hoped will be big enough for the camera to catch.”

According to Qaiser, the British-born Carla Khan, has been granted permission to represent Pakistan in all WISPA-organised tournaments except for Olympics, Asiad and SAF Games.

Carla, grand daughter of Pakistan squash legend Azam Khan and daughter of Wasil Khan plays professional squash in England. She is currently ranked 38 in the world.