HASTINGS (England): The World Squash Federation (WSF) has rescheduled the World Masters Squash Championships which was to be held from Aug 15 to 21, 2020, for the next year.

The event was originally postponed from August 2020 due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, said a news release issued on Friday.

The world’s biggest squash club, Hasta la Vista, in the Polish city of Wroclaw, would host the world’s leading Masters players, with a number of nationalities represented throughout all draws, while ages range from 35 to over 80 years. Additionally, the WSF has approved the qualifying age for the postponed event, which will remain as per the original start date of the event on Aug 23, 2020. This ensures that those who entered this year’s event still qualify for the same age group on the new dates.

“The World Masters Squash Championships is a highly-anticipated tournament on the global squash calendar,” said WSF chief executive William Louis-Marie.

“While we are naturally disappointed that the challenges arising from the global Covid-19 pandemic have prevented us from holding the championships on its intended date, we have worked hard to ensure that we still have an opportunity to welcome players from around the world to Wroclaw next summer.

“I would like to thank the Hasta La Vista Club for their help in ensuring that this top-class tournament can still go ahead, while I’d also like to thank all players involved for their patience and cooperation while we have sought to find alternative dates for the tournament,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hasta La Vista Club owner Zenon Waniak said, “Masters Championships were known to take advantage of this like no other event, hence I invite all players from all continents to participate in the WSF World Masters Championships 2021 and to be a part of its prestigious and unique atmosphere.”

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2020