ISLAMABAD, May 10: As many as 16 national and international players will be participating in the qualifying round of the international squash event, the President Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) Championship commencing at the Jansher Khan Squash Complex, Abbottabad, on Sunday, said an official of the PSF on Saturday.

According to the PSF official, Farhan Mehboob will be the top seed. Meanwhile the upcoming Nosherwan Khan has been given a wild card for the main round. Besides top national squash players, world ranking players from England, Wales, India, UAE, and Iran will also be playing in the tournament, which carries a prize purse of US$12,000.

The main round of the event will take place from May 13-16 with a draw of 16 players.

Following players are competing:

Main round: Farhan Mehboob, Shahid Zaman, Yasir Butt, Majid Khan, Shams-ul-Islam, Arshad Iqbal Burki, Bilal Zaman, Neil Hitchens (England), Naresh Kumar (India), Lewys Hurst (Wales), Amjad Khan, Nosherwan Khan.

Qualifying round: M. Shoaib Hassan, Waqar Mehboob, Tariq Manzoor (UAE), Aqib Hanif, Kashif Khan, M. Hossei Jafari Nadushan (Iran), Farhan Zaman, Mamoon-ur-Rashid, Wasim Shad, Owais Khan, Ijaz Khan, Ali Raza, Hamza Bukhari, Zahir Shah, Aurangzeb Mohmand, Nasir Iqbal.—Sports Reporter