He wins gold medal at Junior Open Squash championship in Under 13 category after a gap of 18 years
\n BIRMINGHAM
\nYoung Pakistani Squash sensation Sohail Adnan has said that it\u2019s about time that the government and sports authorities in Pakistan should shift their focus more on squash from cricket.
\nAdnan, 12, said this while speaking to Geo News. He hails from Bahawalpur and became the first Pakistani squash player to win the gold medal at the Junior Open Squash championship in the Under 13 category after a gap of 18 years.
\nHe defeated top seed Egypt\u2019s Moiz Tamir Al-Mughazi in a thrilling final which lasted for five games at the University of Birmingham\u2019s sports centre.
\nSpeaking to Geo News soon after receiving the championship gold medal, Adnan said that though he was extremely happy with his achievement, his ultimate aim was to win for Pakistan and Allah has helped him in achieving that goal.
\n\u201cI was leading after the first game but then my opponent made a strong comeback and went 2-1 up. At that time my coach and colleagues Varun and Sakhi really backed me up. The only thing on my mind was that it is all about the name of my country Pakistan and its green flag. So I really put my focus on the match and won it for my country.\u201d
\n\u201cMy opponent was enjoying a huge crowd support which was also adding extra pressure. There were a few Pakistani supporters too who were fewer in numbers but didn\u2019t back down at all in my support. It was fun and I really enjoyed that pressure situation,\u201d he added further.
\nThe final score of Adnan\u2019s epic nail-biter was 11-5, 5-11, 6-11, 11-7 and 11-5. After winning the championship point Adnan didn\u2019t hold his emotions back and celebrated the victory in emphatic style.
\nSlamming his racket in the court, with a fist bump in the air he took his shirt off and flung it in the air. The members of the small Pakistani contingent ran into the court and lifted him over their shoulders.
\n\u201cIt was a tough competition and I was under a lot of pressure. My opponent was top seed and the final was most of the time on the knife\u2019s edge. I had already made an upset in the tournament by beating the 2nd seed in the semi-final so I was very excited. In the end, it was all about my country Pakistan so I decided that whatever the circumstances I can\u2019t let this golden opportunity go by,\u201d Adnan said.
\nHe also said that he started playing squash when he was only five or six years old and the reason for that was his family has a passion for this sport.
\n\u201cMany of my family members play this game. My father plays squash as well as my uncle and many other family members, in fact, I got into playing squash at a very early age too and now it\u2019s been more than six years now since I first started. I spoke to my parents briefly after my victory and they are absolutely over the moon and celebrating my achievement.\u201d
\nBritish junior open is the third title Adnan has won in the last one year or so. Earlier, he won Scottish Junior Open and before that, Asian Junior Open too. But now he\u2019s eying the World Junior Squash Championship title which will take place in Cairo, Egypt in July-August 2025.
\n\u201cLast one year has been absolutely amazing for me as I\u2019ve won three junior titles but my next goal in coming month is first to win the US junior and then World junior too. Becoming a World Champion is my ultimate target and for that I will put all my efforts. For all these successes I\u2019m extremely grateful of Allah Almighty who has blessed him with these achievements and Insha-Allah I will win many more titles for my country\u201d.
\nCurrently, Adnan is studying in eighth grade at a local school in his native city Bahawalpur, but for training, he has to travel to Lahore as there are not many squash training facilities in Bahawalpur.
\nResponding to a question about the squash facilities, Adnan said that he will request Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and the government to invest more in the squash.
\n\u201cI\u2019m trying my best to manage the balance between my studies and passion for squash. All I want to say is that in Pakistan cricket and few other sports enjoy huge support from everyone but not squash. In Pakistan most of the focus is on cricket but now the authorities need to focus more on squash as there\u2019s an abundance of young talent in this game. If only a little more focus is shifted towards squash specially at school level this can result in producing more champion players for Pakistan\u201d.
\n\u201cPakistan Squash Federation and Punjab Squash Association supported me but a lot of credit goes to my parents and my coach Kashif Butt who really worked hard on me. Also Mohammad Mansoor the secretary of Punjab Squash Association who came to England with us. I\u2019m grateful to everyone who supported me\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He wins gold medal at Junior Open Squash championship in Under 13 category after a gap of 18 years BIRMINGHAM Young Pakistani Squash sensation Sohail Adnan has said that it\u2019s about time that the government and sports authorities in Pakistan should shift their focus more on squash from cricket. Adnan, 12, said this while speaking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-454145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n