Foreign players for Rs 11-lakh ISP prize money event

Indian Squash Professionals will organise a Rs 11-lakh prize money ISP Minute Maid Squash Carnival next month for which it has invited players from Egypt and Malaysia apart from the country`s top racqueters.

Mumbai: Indian Squash Professionals, a non-government organisation, will organise a Rs 11-lakh prize

money ISP Minute Maid Squash Carnival next month for which it has invited players from Egypt and Malaysia apart from the country`s top racqueters. The chief attraction in the men`s 128-man draw will be world number 37 Omar Abdel Aziz of Egypt who would be the hot contender to lift the top prize of Rs 1.5 lakh, it was announced at a media conference today. The men`s runner-up in the February 5-12 event at Khar Gymkhana would take home Rs 75,000 while the women`s champion would receive Rs 75,000 and runner-up Rs 50,000. Country`s top men`s player Sourav Ghosal and top two women players Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, however, are not in the fray as they would be busy on the pro circuit in USA. Among the top Indian men players taking part would be Gaurav Nandrajog, Sidharth Suchde, said ISP president Ashish Gupta who added that the tournament is being held under the aegis of the Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra. Malaysia`s women`s world no 50 Suti Munirah Jusoh is the favourite on the women`s section in the absence of higher-ranked Dipika and Joshna. Events would also be held for boys and girls in the under-19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9 and 7 age groups and six courts, three refurbished glass-backed Khar Gymkhana courts and three more at the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana would be used, it was announced. The tournament is the 100th conducted by ISP since 1993. PTI