Pakistan withdrew its players from the U.S. Open Junior Squash Championship after organisers raised concerns over age eligibility and refused to accept the country’s age verification process, a media report said on Monday.
Around 977 players from 45 nations are competing in the 2025 U.S. Junior Open, the world’s largest individual squash tournament. However, Pakistan pulled out after the organisers did not accept its age verification documentation, Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) reported, quoting sources.
“To protect the integrity of the competition while allowing participation, US Squash implemented a newly adopted policy. Where reasonable concern existed, affected players were permitted to compete only in the age group in which they are ranked domestically and/or most recently competed at their National Championships,” the organisers told TelecomAsia.net.
“No player was banned or disqualified, and all affected athletes remained eligible to compete. Age-category adjustments were applied solely to maintain fairness for all participants and do not alter World Squash Federation (WSF) regulations,” they added.
Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) secretary Amir Nawaz said any move that questioned the country’s verification process was unacceptable.
“It is not that our players were overage and withdrawn,” Nawaz was quoted as saying. “They raised objections to one of our players but did not accept our documentation and verification process, which was properly endorsed.
“They challenged our system, which goes against our integrity. After discussion in our executive committee, we decided not to participate in the event. They did not disallow our players but promoted them to higher age groups, which was not acceptable,” he said.
The organisers reiterated that fairness was paramount. “US Squash is fully committed to fairness, transparency, and athlete welfare in local, national, and international competitions. In the lead-up to the 2025 U.S. Junior Open, concerns were raised regarding the age eligibility of a small group of international junior players.
“These concerns were based on documentation, domestic competition histories, and global ranking patterns that suggested potential discrepancies in reported ages,” a spokesperson said.
“The review identified system-level challenges that made it impossible to determine chronological age with certainty in some cases. These included delays in birth registration, the possibility of conflicting or duplicate documents, and domestic competition patterns inconsistent with reported ages. Importantly, this review did not reflect on the character, integrity, or intentions of any individual athlete, family, or federation,” the spokesperson added.
The PSF said it would raise the matter with the World Squash Federation in due course.
Pakistan was once a dominant force in international squash, with Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan ruling the sport in the latter decades of the 20th century. However, the country has not won a senior world title since their retirement.
Pakistan has shown signs of resurgence, with Hamza Khan winning the Junior World Championship in 2023 — the country’s first junior world title since 1986. Noor Zaman also claimed the Under-23 title earlier this year.
However, allegations related to age discrepancies have emerged as a setback, particularly in a country where birth records are often poorly maintained in rural areas.
IANS
