ISLAMABAD, Nov 27: Whatever little hope there was of the Pakistani squash quintet attending next month’s World Open were effectively sealed Wednesday by the Belgian embassy in Islamabad which refused to grant them visas.

The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) which was seeking visas for its players were told by the embassy officials that their interior ministry had not given clearance.

The embassy said a letter citing reasons for the refusal had been dispatched to the PSF which should get the mail by Thursday.

The refusal that comes one and a half month after applications for visas were submitted, prompted the PSF to write a letter of protest to the Professional Squash Association (PSA) as a last gasp measure.

Secretary of PSF, Wing Commander Sajid Waheed, speaking to Dawn said that it was a big blow not only to the players but had also brought embarrassment to the federation.

Mansoor Zaman, Shahid Zaman, Farrukh Zaman, Ijaz Azmat and Shamsul Islam were the players intending to compete in the $160,000 World Open starting on December 4.

On Tuesday Sajid had appeared quite hopeful that the players might after all get visas after the tournament organisers reportedly made some effort in this regard.

However, efforts if any, went up in smoke leaving the players to rue their fate who would now get zero point for missing the elite tournament for no fault of theirs.

In his letter addressed to Gawain Briars, the chief executive of PSA, Sajid said that the embassy’s decision had created a lot of embarrassment for PSF, the players and the people of Pakistan. He drew Briar’s attention to the fact that Pakistan had held the World Open crown for a long time and besides the PSF has been organising five to seven international tournaments each year. “It is very discouraging for our players that despite our all out efforts, they have been deprived of playing abroad in such a prestigious tournament as the World Open,” Sajid wrote.

Since 1975, Pakistan have won the World Open as many as 14 times while the PSF has conducted international tournaments with a total prize money of $180,000 this year alone. More events with a total purse of $257,000 are planned for next year including the Pakistan Open that offers $120,000 in prize money.

Sajid has requested the PSA, the World Squash Federation (WSF) and the Open organisers to “intervene personally” and asked the Belgian interior ministry to reconsider their decision.

But he said that he saw no hope now of the visas being granted at a late stage. The only way out could be if the event organisers make some kind of extra-ordinary effort or the President of Pakistan intervenes to have the matter settled.

In a related development, the newly-elected senior vice president of PSF, Air Vice Marshal Saleem A. Nawaz has approached the sports secretary asking him to help solve the issue.

Meanwhile visas for Pakistani players who are to take part in the World Junior Championship in Chennai, India are likely to be issued Thursday. Sajid said that he had spoken to the Indian ambassador here and also to the top official of the Indian Squash Federation in this regard.

Pakistan party comprising Khayal Muhammad, Arshad Iqbal Burki, Majid Khan, Safeerullah Khan, Shah Nawaz, Khalid Atlas, Rehmat Khan (coach cum manager) and Ayaz Khan (assistant coach) plans to leave for India on Nov 30.