KARACHI: World junior squash champion Hamza Khan met the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi at Naval Headquarters in Islamabad.
Hamza recently won the World Junior (U-19) Squash Championship in Melbourne. It is after 36 years when any Pakistani squash player has secured such a remarkable triumph and brought a moment of pride for the entire country.
During the meeting, Chief of the Naval Staff congratulated the young champion for winning the title and bringing laurels for the country.
Naval Chief appreciated the efforts of Hamza and encouraged him to participate in future Squash events with full dedication and commitment.
In recognition of his meritorious achievement, Naval Chief awarded the Champion with a cash prize of Rs500,000 and Life Time gratis Membership of Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex at Karachi.
Hamza Khan expressed his gratitude to Chief of the Naval Staff and Pakistan Navy for unwavering contributions towards the promotion of Squash in the country.
He added that regular organising of CNS Open National and International Squash Championships is a testament of PN’s commitment towards this sport.
Earlier this month, the World Squash Federation (WSF) cleared Pakistan's World junior squash champion Hamza Khan after Egypt had questioned his age.
The WSF said that it found no evidence that the age of 2023 WSF World Junior Squash Champion Hamza Khan of Pakistan was different from the one listed on his official passport.
Hamza had defeated Egypt’s Muhammad Zakarya in the final to win the World Junior title.
Following Hamza's win, the Egypt Squash Federation questioned the age of the Pakistani player and requested WSF to investigate the matter.
“After the Egyptian Squash Federation request, the WSF began extensive consultation with experts, including the WSF Medical Commission and the International Olympic Committee. This consultation found no evidence that the age of 2023 WSF World Junior Squash Champion Hamza Khan of Pakistan is different from the one listed on his official passport,” the WSF statement said.
The statement further added that it has been noted that Hamza Khan has competed in official international junior events for a number of years and has had the same date of birth registered on every occasion.
“The WSF has been advised that there is no medically recognised procedure that can measure an individual’s age without a significant margin of error,” the statement highlights.
The World Squash Federation has further said that the Egyptian Squash Federation and the Pakistan Squash Federation have been informed of the outcome of this investigation, and the matter is now considered closed.
Our Correspondent