The first major international sporting event to be hosted by Kuwait starts
tomorrow as the world's top squash players converge on Kuwait City for the
Seikha Al Sa'ad Kuwait Open.All roads will lead to
Salmiya Sporting Club and the Green Island where the qualifying and final
matches respectively, will be held from Jan 23 to Jan 28.
The men's qualifying draw draw will be held at 12:00 noon
on Friday at the Salmiya Sporting Club Squash Centre and the qualifying
matches will kick off at 3:00 pm at the same
venue.
The highlight of the five-day tournament will be the
unveiling of a new, all-glass court specially imported from Boston, USA at
Green Island where main draw action will take place.
Former Kuwaiti number one Adel Jassim Al-Ghareeb - who is
also the promoter and tournament director - unveiled the plans in a press
conference held on Wednesday at the Salmiya Sporting Club Squash Centre.
The opening, according to Al-Ghareeb, will be a lavish and
memorable event complete with fireworks in a fitting celebration of the
country's first-ever hosting of a major international sporting event, and
will be graced by HH The Crown Prince Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Salem Al-Sabah
who is the patron of the event, and HH Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad
Al-Sabah.
Also present will be former great Jahangir Khan of
Pakistan who is the president of the World Squash Federation, and other
dignitaries of the sport including "the Voice of Squash" Robert Edwards who
will be doing a blow-by-blow account of the matches.
Once the action gets under way the Kuwaiti fans will be able
to enjoy watching the elite of world squash, with many questions to be
answered. In the men's event top seed Peter Nicol
will be seeking what, in his terms, is a long-overdue tournament win as
he attempts to reclaim the coveted number one position. Second seed John
White is also chasing the top spot, knowing that good points here could
put him in pole position in the March shake-up. Third seed David Palmer
believes he can reach the top in 2004 after struggling throughout most of
2003, and fourth seed Jonathon Power, making his comeback after
missing out on the big events at the end of last year, has made clear his
intention to reclaim top spot by the end of 2004. Then, as fifth seed, is
current world number one Thierry Lincou competing in his first
tournament since his spectacular leap up the rankings after Lahore. Throw
world number four Lee Beachill and world champion Amr Shabana
(who meet in the first round) into the mix and Kuwait should witness one of
the most intriguing tournaments in many a year. With
the retirement of Carol Owens the women are jockeying to see who will take
over the mantle of world number one in the February rankings. Top seed
Cassie Jackman is seeded to meet Rachael Grinham in the final.
Jackman seems to have the easier half of the draw, with Natalie Grainger
and Linda Charman looking set for a quarter-final clash, a repeat of the
recent Apawamis final, although Jackman still finds Natalie Grinham,
Vanessa Atkinson and teenage sensation Omneya Abdel Kawy
barring her path to the final. Grainger probably starts favourite, but with
the two dominant forces in women's squash now retired the women's game looks
more open than ever. |
The Sheikha Sa'ad Kuwait Open, which takes place in Kuwait
City at the end of January 2004, will celebrate the life of Sheikha Al
Sa'ad Al-Sabah, who died on the 2nd February 2003 at the age of just 38.
The tournament will be a sporting memorial to a remarkable woman, who was
herself a first class squash player. The popular Sheikha was Managing
Director of International Marketing KPC Oil and a dedicated member of the
Kuwaiti Royal family, deeply committed to her country.
Kuwait-Info.com
MEN'S DRAW
WOMEN'S DRAW |
Kuwait All Set
