WORLD SQUASH NEWS
Qatar Squash Event To Carry On Despite Gulf Conflict
Despite the military conflict in Iraq, top international squash players are
arriving in Qatar to compete in the second event on the Qatar Squash Circuit
which gets underway in the country's capital Doha on Monday (24 March).
Whilst some players have withdrawn from the event, following advice from
their countries' foreign offices, top seeded Australian Mike Corren has no
doubts about his participation.
"I arrived in Doha this morning and everything seems OK - in fact, you would
never know there was a war on unless you turned on the TV or opened a paper,"
said the 29-year-old from Adelaide in a message to the UK-based Professional
Squash Association (PSA), organisers of the men's international circuit.
"All indications point to a good tournament," Corren concluded.
Ireland's John Rooney, the fifth seed based in Nottingham, is also confident
about competing in Doha: "I discussed it with my Dad and he agreed that I
should definitely go," said the 23-year-old. "I've never been to Qatar
before and I'm hoping it will be third time lucky - I didn't do myself
justice on my other two overseas trips this year, to Malaysia and the USA."
Qatar, boasting one of only a handful of permanently-sited all-glass courts
in the world, has staged a number of top international squash events in
recent years, including the Men's World Open in December 1998.
Entries closed this week for the 2003 PSA Qatar Masters, the $120,000 Super
Series event which will take place in Doha from 22-27 April. The high
quality field is led by England's world No1 Peter Nicol, and includes all of
the world's top ten except Australia's world champion David Palmer who is
still recuperating from the removal of his appendix in Bermuda earlier this
month.