Siyoli Waters is top seed in Rawalpindi
By HOWARD HARDING – Squash Mad Correspondent
Bahria Town in Rawalpindi will host the first WSA World Tour event in Pakistan for almost seven years.
The WSA Challenger 10 Bahria Town International Women’s Squash Tournament, which boasts a $10,000 prize-fund and has attracted players from seven countries, will take place at the Safari Club from 1-4 April.
South African champion Siyoli Waters, ranked 35 in the world, is the event’s top seed while local interest will be led by Maria Toorpakai Wazir, the event’s No.7 seed who hails from Peshawar. The Toronto-based world No.58 is the highest-ranked Pakistan-born player of all-time.
“The $10,000 women event shows that Pakistan Squash Federation is keen to promote women’s squash in Pakistan,” PSF Secretary Amir Nawaz told The Express Tribune.
“It’s an opportunity for local players to compete against much better players than themselves. There have been small satellite WSA events previously, but nothing of this kind.”
WSA Challenger 10 Bahria Town International Women’s Tournament.
1st round line-up:
[1] Siyoli Waters (RSA) v Zulhijjah Binti Azan (MAS)
[6] Linda Hruzikova (SVK) v Qualifier
[3] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) v Qualifier
[8] Farah Abdel Meguid (EGY) v Carmen Lee (HKG)
[5] Rachel Arnold (MAS) v Qualifier
[4] Cheyna Tucker (RSA) v Teh Min Jie (MAS)
[7] Maria Toorpakai Wazir (PAK) v Vanessa Chu (HKG)
[2] Nadine Shahin (EGY) v Qualifier
For all the latest WSA Tour news: wsaworldtour.com
Â