The stage is set at the Bombay Gymkhana as big-time squash returns to Mumbai after over a decade in the form of the Punj Lloyd PSA masters 2009
The stage is set at the Bombay Gymkhana as big-time squash returns to Mumbai after over a decade in the form of the Punj Lloydu00a0PSA masters 2009
The last time big-time squash was played in the city was in 1996 when the squash ball thwacked in the specially built Thunderdome at the beautiful CCI stadia.
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The glass squash court that has been specially prepared for the December 5-10 tournament. pics/sameer markande |
This time around the action moves to the verdant lawns of the Bombay Gymkhana where top players of the world will vie for supremacy on a four-walled glass court to emerge the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters champion.
Back then, one still remembers Peter Nicol beating the irrepressible Pakistani Jansher Khan in a five-game encounter. There were collective "oohs" and "aahs"u00a0 from the crowd whenever a rally ended in a breathtaking finish. This time though the cast is not the same,u00a0 the event is far bigger in magnitude. The Mahindra International boasted ofu00a0 prize-money to the tune of USD 20,000, while the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters 2009 has a whopping total prize-money of USD155,000 and is therefore on par with the World Open.
World No 1 Karim Darwish of Egypt is absent due to a back injury, so the seedings were altered at the last moment and Frenchman Gregory Gaultier has been given top billing.
Australian David Palmer (four-time British Open champion and two-time World Open champ) and Amr Shabana, the reigning World Open supremo is also in the mix.u00a0 And who can forget the highly talented and dangerous Eqyptian Ramy El Ashour. The former champ conquered all at the PSA Otters Club Open a few years ago and would like an encore in Mumbai.
The lone player in the field who played in the Mahindra event in 1996 is Aussie David Palmer.
"I was just 19, I lost in the qualifying rounds, but it was a fantastic experience. Playing in the Thunderdome at the Brabourne was something special,'' recalled the 33-year-old World No 6 from Sydney who is now based in Orlando, Florida.
"Watching Jansher Khan, Peter Nicol and Rodney Eyles was a treat for a youngster like me. I stayed on for a couple of more days just to catch the big guns in action,'" signed off the suave Aussie.
