THE HEAT IS ON ...Doha gears up for another Classic
The capital city of oil-rich Gulf state Qatar is all set to stage another edition of the Qatar Classic, the richest squash tournament other than the World Open and is equal to Qatar Masters which was held earlier in Doha on may 2003.
Squash stars Peter Nicol of England and Carol Owens of New Zealand, the world's top ranked players on the men's PSA and women's WISPA tour respectively, will be seen in action in two separate Qatar Classic tournaments, which begin at the famous Khalifa Squash Complex next week.
QSF yesterday announced the details of the two events in which former World Open champion Nicol and Owens have been given the top seeding. The action commences on November 30. The two finals will be held on December 5.
Both tournaments will have a field of 32 players. The total prize money of the two events is $225,000, the highest sum offered by any host country in events other than the World Open.
Nicol, the winner of two past Qatar Classic editions, will be aiming for a hat-trick of titles, while Owens, who clinched the Qatar Grand Prix in May this year, will be attempting to win her second successive trophy in Doha.
According to Nabil Ali bin Ali, the president of the QSF, the world's top players will be in Doha for both events, including world No.3 David Palmer of Australia, who missed his previous Qatar assignment last may due to an injury. Among many other top players, runner-up of the women's World Open staged in Doha last year, Natalie Grainger of the US, will also be seen in action.
"The Qatar Classic 2003 will see the world's top 32 players in action in both tournaments. Nicol will be leading the PSA group of players," Nabil said yesterday.
The PSA competition has $120,000 to be grabbed.
"Squash fans in Doha will be treated to some super quality games once again. Keeping our fine tradition to promote the sport in Doha, this year also we will be allowing fans in for free. There are no tickets to be bought and fans can walk in at any time, and catch the action live without having to pay money."
Nabil added that Owens will be the top seed in the Wispa event, which carries prize money of Us $ 105,000 John White of England, Thierry Lincou of France, Jonathon Power of Canada, Anthony Ricketts of Australia, Ong Beng Hee of Malaysia, Karim Darwish of Egypt, and Lee Beachill of England complete the top-10 line-up in the PSA event.
The list of players announced by Nabil also confirms the entries of Rachael Grinham of Australia, Cassie Jackman and Linda Charman, both from England, Vanessa Atkinson of the Netherlands, Tania Baily, Rebecca Macree and Jenny Tranfield, the British trio, in the Wispa challenge, which starts on December 1.
Twenty-four players in both the events will get DIRECT ENTRY into the main draws while eight slots will be reserved for players coming through the qualifiers, which will start on November 28 and run for two days.
Nabeel added that QSF will also host Jack Herrick and Gwain Briars, the chairman and executive director of the PSA respectively. Andrew Shelley, the Wispa executive director, will also be present in Doha.
Qatar stages two squash events every year, one in April and the other around this time. Last season, Qatar was praised for 'organizing the best tournament' on the PSA calendar. A memento in the regard was handed over by Palmer to Nabil at the previous edition of the Qatar Classic.
QSF has remodeled its logo and the title for this year's edition is:
The heat is on.For those who have watched Nicol, Power, Palmer and Ricketts in action previously, there's no doubting that there will be a tremendous discharge of energy once the real action commences nine days later.
It is not to be missed ... Men's Draw | Women's DrawNews direct from Doha ... www.qatarclassic.com
