NEW DELHI, Apr 24:
Top Indian squash players, including Dipilka Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal, have decided not to take part in the Asian Championships beginning May 1 in Islamabad, citing current security situation in Pakistan.
Ghosal and Dipilka told that the players have collectively taken the decision to give the continental tournament a miss and they have already informed the Squash Rackets Federation of India about this.
“We had decided it in February that we will not be going in Pakistan for the Championship as security remains a concern for us. We have conveyed our decision to SRFI,” Ghosal said.
“A lot of things happened which prompted us to take this decision, like beheading of our soldiers (at the LoC) and the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. It’s an unanimous decision taken by Joshana Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal and me,” he said.
“Pakistan is not a safe option to tour at this point of time. I would have loved to play in the Championship had it been held somewhere else,” said Ghosal who is ranked 19th in the world.
Pallikal, on her part, said the players did not want to take a security risk by going to Pakistan.
“It’s a unanimous decision taken by all of us. We are not going to Islamabad for the Championship. We didn’t want to risk going to Pakistan,” said Dipika who is ranked 15th in the world. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel