Karachi
\nKarachi is set to host another high-profile international sporting event with the Karachi Open Squash Championship taking place from 15 \u2013 19 March, 2022. The main draws for the 2022 Karachi Open Squash Championship see former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad and France\u2019s Enora Villard heading the men\u2019s and women\u2019s draws, respectively.
\nThe male event is a PSA World Tour Bronze tournament, while the female competition is a PSA Challenger Tour 20 tournament. Former World Champion Gawad leads the men\u2019s draw and will be looking to claim his first title since 2019. The Egyptian will face the winner of home favourite Asim Khan and England\u2019s Declan James in his first match of the tournament as he receives a bye in round one.
\nWorld No.16 Youssef Soliman from Egypt is the number two seed. Soliman, a recent quarter finalist at the Houston Open, will open his account against the winner of Spain\u2019s Bernat Jaume and event wildcard Muhammad Ashab Irfan from Pakistan.
\nPakistan\u2019s best chance of a home winner comes in the form of World No.44 Tayyab Aslam. The nation\u2019s No.1 will face up and coming Egyptian Yahya Elnawasany in his first-round match. The pair last met at the Egyptian Open in September, with the Egyptian winning 3-1 in 38 minutes to level the head-to-head record at 1-1.
\nFrance\u2019s Enora Villard is number one seed for the female event. The French No.4 recently lost out to Georgina Kennedy from England in the last 16 of the Cleveland Classic and will be looking to improve on that performance in Karachi. Villard will play either Pakistan\u2019s Zaynab Khan or New Zealand\u2019s Kaitlyn Watts in her opening match of the event.
\nEngland\u2019s Lucy Beecroft is one to watch in the event. The World No.62 won two events in 2021 and will be determined to add to that tally in 2022. Beecroft receives a bye in round one but will face either wildcard Anam Mustafa Aziz or Serbia\u2019s Jelena Dutina in round two. No.3 seed Marie Stephan is entering the Challenger 20 event full of confidence as the 25-year-old recently captured her first French Nationals title, beating Enora Villard in the final. Stephan will play Pakistan\u2019s Amna Fayyaz or Malaysia\u2019s Yee Xin Ying for a place in the quarter finals.
\nPakistan Rangers Sindh will collaborate with the event organisers for providing fool proof security arrangements to all participants.
\nChairman Sindh Squash Association and Emeritus President of World Squash Federation Jahangir Khan Said \u201cThe Sindh Squash Association is delighted to host the Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022. We are excited to collaborate with the ARY group who have always been huge supporters of sports in the country.
\n\u201cWe are all very excited to showcase Pakistan\u2019s hospitality to a number of talented international squash players and I look forward to welcoming them in Karachi this March.\u201d
\nChairman AKD Group Aqeel Karim Dhedhi Said
\n\u201cThe business community of Karachi is proud to support Pakistan\u2019s resurgence in sports. The Karachi Open Squash Championship, and other events in the pipeline under the ACE Games umbrella, will have our full support as we aim to promote Pakistan as a sports destination and build Pakistan\u2019s own sporting heroes.\u201d
\nARY Digital Founder and CEO Salman Iqbal Said \u201cI am delighted that we are partnering with the Sindh Squash Association and the business community of Pakistan to bring this star-studded squash event to Pakistan.
\nPakistan has hosted a number of international cricket events in the last few years and the Karachi Open Squash Championship will be a great addition to the country\u2019s sports industry. I am confident that with world-class TV coverage on A Sports, Pakistan\u2019s first HD sports channel, and a memorable event, we will be able to further raise the profile of Pakistan as a sports destination.
\n\u201cOur vision with ACE Games is to promote sports in Pakistan and provide avenues for our youth to train themselves so that they can bring laurels for Pakistan and I hope that all stakeholders will continue to support us in our efforts.\u201d
\nKarachi Open Squash Championship 2022: Men\u2019s Draw
\n[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) [Bye]
\nAsim Khan (PAK) v [9\/16] Declan James (ENG)
\n[9\/16] Greg Lobban (SCO) v Henry Leung (HKG)
\n[6] Todd Harrity (USA) [Bye]
\n[7] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) [Bye]
\nTsz Kwan Lau (HKG) v [9\/16] Edmon Lopez (ESP)
\n[9\/16] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) v [WC] Noor Zaman (PAK)
\n[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) [Bye]
\n[4] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) [Bye]
\nFaraz Khan (USA) v [9\/16] Alan Clyne (SCO)
\n[9\/16] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) v Mazen Gamal (EGY)
\n[8] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) [Bye]
\n[5] Shahjahan Khan (USA) [Bye]
\nYahya Elnawasany (EGY) v [9\/16] Tayyab Aslam (PAK)
\n[9\/16] Bernat Jaume (ESP) v [WC] Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK)
\n[2] Youssef Soliman (EGY) [Bye]
\nKarachi Open Squash Championship 2022: Women\u2019s Draw
\n[1] Enora Villard [Bye]
\nZaynab Khan (PAK) v [9\/16] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL)
\n[9\/16] NadeenKotb (EGY) v Sof\u00eda Mateos (ESP)
\n[5] Nadia Pfister (SUI) [Bye]
\n[6] Georgia Adderley (SCO) [Bye]
\nLea Barbeau (FRA) v [9\/16] Chan Yiwen (MAS)
\n[9\/16] Amna Fayyaz (PAK) v Yee Xin Ying (MAS)
\n[3] Marie Stephan (FRA) [Bye]
\n[4] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) [Bye]
\nSarah Cardwell (AUS) v [9\/16] Anna Kimberley (ENG)
\n[9\/16] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) v Rana Ismail (EGY)
\n[7] Menna Hamed (EGY) [Bye]
\n[8] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) [Bye]
\n[WC] Anam Mustafa Aziz (PAK) v [9\/16] Jelena Dutina (SRB)
\n[9\/16] Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) v [WC] Mariam Malik (PAK)
\n[2] Menna Nasser (EGY) [Bye]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karachi Karachi is set to host another high-profile international sporting event with the Karachi Open Squash Championship taking place from 15 \u2013 19 March, 2022. The main draws for the 2022 Karachi Open Squash Championship see former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad and France\u2019s Enora Villard heading the men\u2019s and women\u2019s draws, respectively. The male […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[4595,4596,4594],"class_list":{"0":"post-247227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-karachi-open","9":"tag-kick-off","10":"tag-squash-championship"},"yoast_head":"\n