UAE's Aamir Malik leads hope for squash in the Gulf

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  • The Gulf has the financial wealth to compete but the talent still remains to be seen.

    On the back of the Professional Squash Association’s (PSA) agreement to host a World Series event in Dubai last year, the eyes of the sport were instantly focused on the United Arab Emirates’ potential to emerge as a key player in squash.

    The UAE has become a global hub for sports such as cricket, tennis, golf, football and Formula One in recent years and with a large community of squash-mad expats from Europe and the MENA region, it was hoped that squash could be the next sport to catch on.

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    The PSA tie-up didn’t get off to the greatest of starts, however, with the planned first event in March 2015 failing to get off the ground due to a dispute between the sport’s governing body and their UAE counterparts.

    Dubai-based events company Panacea Dubai still holds the rights to the event for the next three years and is hopeful of hosting the tournament despite the ongoing issues.

    However, with the PSA looking to reduce the number of tournaments on its calendar and the two governing bodies reaching an impasse in their discussions, the near future looks somewhat bleak for world-class squash coming to the UAE.

    One player hoping for that to change is the sole professional player competing under the flag of the UAE, Aamir Malik.

    Currently ranked 201 in the world, Malik sees the potential of the sport in the country and believes that there is enough interest in the sport to make the UAE a competitive squash nation.

    “UAE is doing a good job as we’ve now started to host closed satellite events regularly and this keeps the interest of game increasing,” Aamir told Sport360.

    “I can say that squash is flourishing in the country as people have started taking up the game and currently we’ve as many as 1,500 squash courts here.

    “Right now, I’m the only one who is playing professionally but the future looks bright. The UAE Squash Association is doing a wonderful job in organising different tournaments for us.”

    The current state of the game in the UAE is reflected elsewhere in the Gulf. Qatar and Saudi Arabia are already established as World Series venues and the professional game has recently headed to Kuwait in the form of Asian Squash Championship. 

    Hong Kong’s Leo Au emerged as the champion while home favourite Abdullah Al Muzayen finished runner-up for the second successive year.

    And Au feels that the game is on the brink of breaking through across the UAE, telling Sport360: “It would be great if squash can be played in the UAE just like other games because I’m sure with this move, there will be more people who want to know and explore more about squash as the game needs more exposure.

    “It would be great if some big sponsors are willing to help. I understand that the rules of our game are a bit more complicated compared to badminton or tennis, but there is no question that it is entertaining and not many sports can compete in terms of pace and energy.”

    While the UAE and the Gulf face an uphill task bringing the sport to a region so dominated by cricket and football, squash’s spiritual home is unquestionably in MENA.

    World No. 1 Mohamed Elshorbagy is one of five Egytians in the current top 10 and Kuwaiti player Al Muzayen cannot see the established order changing any time soon, despite witnessing improvements in the standard of squash in the Middle East.

    “The centre of squash is Egypt and it will remain for the years to come because we don’t have quality players or any kind of support to the game,” Al Muzayen explained to Sport360. “Even the private sector doesn’t get any benefits from hosting PSA tournaments.”

    Well-travelled coach Jamshed Gul Khan, who helped Malaysian Ong Beng Hee become the most successful player on the Asian circuit at the turn of the century, believes that Olympic status is vital if the sport is to gain extra funds.

    “The sponsors don’t come in because squash isn’t in the Olympics and I feel that whenever it breaks into the Olympics, the game will certainly improve its financial health and appeal,” said Jamshed.

    “If the Arab world, and most importantly the UAE, can put their hands in their pockets and support squash, then it could prove to be the game changer because they have the funds to back the game.”

    The Gulf certainly has the financial wealth to compete but whether it will ever be able to boast a wealth of talent in squash still remains to be seen. 

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