 27-May-05:
PSA Tour Breaks Into New Territory
The men's professional Squash circuit extends to yet another nation
with the announcement that The Saudi International Squash Open
will be held in the Saudi Arabia coastal city of Al-Khobar at the
end of this year.
The event will be at Super Series Platinum level, the highest rating
on the PSA Tour calendar, and will have a total prize fund of over
$120,000. The Saudi International Open will be staged from 16th
to 20th December and will immediately follow the men's world
team championships in Islamabad, Pakistan..
 The initiative has been masterminded by Ziad Al-Turki, a
fanatical Squash player from Saudi Arabia who has been coached by
former international players Brett Martin and Danny Lee.
Ziad is
Vice-President of the A A Turki Group (ATCO), a major international
business group operating from Al-Khobar which is supporting the
venture in association with the Saudi Government.
Gawain Briars, Chief Executive of the PSA, commented:
"The
whole Gulf Region is currently experiencing a huge surge in PSA
events and this breakthrough into yet another country is
particularly satisfying.
"The event fits in well with the PSA
strategy of developing the architecture of the tour to ensure that
players travel logically from event to event and the Saudi Arabian
Open will be particularly helpful as it slots in perfectly between
the Qatar Classic in Doha and the Men's World Team Championship in
Pakistan.
"We are delighted with this new venture in Saudi Arabia and
congratulate Ziad Al-Turki on his welcome initiative, which brings
the number of Super Series events in 2005 to an impressive total of
seven."
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"We see countries all around
us with different sports tournaments, but not us.
"I asked myself why Qatar, Egypt,
Kuwait, etc, have PSA events, and not us? I realised that it's not
government restrictions; it's just that no one has taken that
initiative.
"So I did!
"I feel the country is hungry for activities. Our aim is to
provide the kingdom with what we hope is an entertaining
international event. An event which will both raise awareness
of squash in Saudi Arabia, and hopefully also showcase some
hidden talents."
"Furthermore, we want to raise funds for the Eastern Province
Rehabilitation Society - and also increase the public's awareness of
the needs of this important charity that helps the handicapped."
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Al Khobar |
