KARACHI, April 12: The 2008 World International Doubles Squash Championships, which will be staged in Chennai, India in December this year will be the first international tournament to feature the new wider doubles court.

The 4th staging of the championships, which were inaugurated in 1997 in Hong Kong, will take place at the ICL Squash Academy in Chennai, from December 15 to 20.

Following a thorough review of international Doubles Squash - initiated by a task force set up by Squash New Zealand — a proposal was accepted at the 2007 World Squash Federation (WSF) AGM in Bermuda to increase the width of a Doubles court by 80cm (from 762 to 842cm).

Further rules changes were also approved, including point-a-rally scoring to nine points per game (with PARS to 15 as an alternative); removing the ‘setting’ requirement at the end of games, thus making it ‘sudden death’ at 8-8; the introduction of a ‘stroke’ and the change of terminology from ‘sides’ to ‘teams’ to designate two partners.

Squash Australia also played a leading role in the appraisal, using the new court for the first time in their recent National Doubles Championships and formulating revised rules and assisting with implementation of the changes.

The new format is being tested at the 2008 World Championships as the sport prepares its focus on the doubles presentation at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India.

“The prime objective of the new initiative is to make the elite international doubles game more exciting for athletes and spectators alike,” said WSF Chief Executive Christian Leighton.

“We look forward to the Chennai presentation fulfilling our aspirations for doubles squash, which will then be staged in this new format two years later at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi,” added Leighton.—Agencies