News

Draws for the Men's and women's Individual Events of the 2018 Asian Games were conducted in Jakarta, Indonesia on 10 August in accordance with the ASF Championship Regulations and under the supervision of the Olympic Council of Asia Senior Executive Advisor - 18th Asian Games Mr. Matthew Kidson and 2018 Asian Games Technical Delegate Ms. Emily Mak.

Squash Events of 2018 Asian Games will be held 23 August - 1 September at Jakarta, Indonesia. There will be four events: Men's and Women's Individual and Team Events.

For details of the events, please visit the official website of the 2018 Asian Games or your can also download the schedule and draws from the ASF official website.

The 26th Asian Junior Individual Championships is scheduled to be held 26 - 30 June 2019 in Macau.

We will send out the details of the Championships at a later stage.

The 19th Asian Junior Team Championships is scheduled to be held 16 - 20 January 2019 in Pattaya, Thailand. The 39th ASF AGM will also be held in conjunction with the Championships on Sunday, 20 January.

Details of the Championships and the AGM will be sent out at a later stage.

The newest edition of the ASF bi-annual e-newsletter SQUASH PULSE is released today. Some highlights for this issue include:

- The ASF Annual General Meeting 2018

- The ASF Annual Awards 2017

- 19th Asian Team Championships 2018, Cheongju, Korea

- WSF Men's World Team Championship, Marseille, France

Relax and hope you enjoy reading our latest Squash Pulse. 

The 19^th Asian Squash Team Championships has come to a successful conclusion on Sunday, 25 March at Cheongju in Korea. After the 5-day competitions of 15 men’s teams and 11 women’s teams respectively, Hong Kong, China got a double happiness of winning both the Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Championships Titles.

For the Men’s Championships, Pakistani men’s team won the silver medals while Iran and Malaysia finished co-third. On the other hand, for the Women’s Championships, Korean women’s team won its first-ever silver medal in the Asian Team Championships in its hometown, while Japan and Malaysia won the bronze.

Mr. David Mui, the ASF President was grateful to Korea Squash Federation for hosting a successful Asian Championships, “The squash complex that was used for the championships is superb and the event was also well organised. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Korea Squash Federation, who made the Championships all the success. My thanks would also be extended to all the officials, referees and helpers.”

Please click here for the full set of draws and results.

We are pleased to announce that Dalian Guoguang Sports Equipment Engineering Company Ltd has become the Official Partner of the Asian Squash Federation.

Specialized in building, rental and retail of squash courts, “GuoGuang Squash” was accredited by the World Squash Federation as one of the qualified squash courts manufacturer in 2017 and became the only one honoured in Asia, the top five worldwide.

“GuoGuang and ASF share the same mission of promoting and developing squash in Asia. Thus, we are very happy that GuoGuang becomes our Official Partner,” commented Mr. David Mui, the ASF’s President, on the partnership with GuoGuang.

In addition to building squash courts, GuoGuang has also been very active in developing squash in China over the last few years. “GuoGuang, being the only WSF’s accredited squash courts manufacturer in China and Asia, has the responsibility to assist the Chinese Squash Federation to develop the sport in China. As China is part of Asia, we are glad that we can cooperate with the ASF to promote squash in the region. Having been establishing a stronger base in China, we hope to play an important role in Asia and further extend our influences to worldwide squash development,” said Mr. Wang Guo-Guang of GuoGuang Sports Equipment Engineering Company Ltd. GuoGuang has committed to sponsor the ASF for 3 years until January 2021.

For more information about GuoGuang Sports Equipment Engineering Company Ltd, please click here.

Congratulations to Hong Kong Squash, which was awarded the Directors of The Year Awards 2017 in the categories of Statutory / Non-profit-distributing Organizations organized by The Hong Kong Institute of Directors, a premier body in Hong Kong representing directors.

Mr. Cedric Tyen, the Honorary Secretary of Hong Kong Squash commented, “We are extremely grateful to be the first National Sports Association in Hong Kong to receive this outstanding award. Under the leadership of our Chairman Mr. David Mui and with the guidance of the Association’s General Committee, we have been working very hard to ensure a high standard in corporate governance. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. David Mui and the General Committee for their commitment and support.”

The Directors of The Year Award is to recognize the Board of Hong Kong Squash, who has established sound principles and procedures in terms of corporate governance as well as effective strategic plans for a continuous success of the association in Hong Kong.

Photo Caption:

Top left: Mr. David Mui MH JP, the Chairman of Hong Kong Squash, presents his speech at the Presentation Ceremony of the Directors of The Year Awards 2017.

Top right: The Honourable Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor GBM GBS, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR, presents her speech as the Patron of The Hong Kong Institute of Directors.

Bottom: Mr. David Mui MH JP, the Chairman of Hong Kong Squash together with the General Committee’s members receive the Directors of The Year Awards 2017.

The 25th WSF Men's World Team Championship has successfully concluded yesterday at Marseille, France. Top seeds Egypt finally reclaimed their Men's World Team Championship title from England in this southern coastal city.

Out of the 24 nations participated in this year's Championship, there were 5 from Asia, included Hong Kong China, India, Iraq, Malaysia and Pakistan. "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Champion Egypt and all other participating countries, especially the 5 Asian nations, who demonstrated their best squash to the world. My congratulations would also go to Hong Kong China, who claimed their first-ever bronze medal in history in the Men's World Team Championship," said Mr. David Mui MH JP, our President with thrills, "we are also delighted to see that Iraq made their first appearance this year."

Besides Hong Kong, China who claimed the bronze medal, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Iraq finished 7th, 12th, 19th and 23rd respectively.

Details of the results please visit the official site of the WSF Men's World Team Championship 2017.

Iran’s number one and former World Junior Number 6, Sajad Zareian won the Iran Squash Federation Peace and Friendship Cup on Sunday, 5 Nov and became the first Iranian player to win a professional tour title.

In the Final, top seed Zareian came from 1-2 down to beat the 2^nd seed Adil Maqbool in five games: 14-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 and 11-8, and claimed his first PSA title.

Details of the tournament, please visit the PSA official website.

The 9th issue of our bi-annual e-newsletter, SQUASH PULSE, is released today. Some highlights for this issue include:

- The ASF Annual Awards 2016

- Jio 19th Asian Individual Championships 2017, Chennai, India

- 24th Asian Junior Individual Championships 2017, Amman, Jordan

- WSF World Junior Squash Championships, Tauranga, New Zealand

- The World Games 2017, Wroclaw, Poland

Relax and hope you enjoy reading our latest Squash Pulse. 

The 19th Asian Team Championships is scheduled to be held 21 – 25 March 2018 in Cheongju, South Korea. The ASF AGM will also be held in conjunction with the Championships on Sunday, 25 March.

Details of the Championships and the AGM will be sent out at a later stage.

Macau Squash Association has successfully hosted the first WSF Level 1 Coaching and Refresher Course 2017 on 2 & 3 and 9 & 10, September. The course, which was tutored by Lim Chee Ming, the Head Coach of Macau Squash Association, has attracted total 19 participants.

Congratulations to the Macau Squash Association as well as the participants.

Photo Caption:

Mr. William Kuan Vai Lam, Chairman of Macau Squash Association (middle in the front row), Mr. Lim Chee Ming, the Course Tutor (right in the front row) and the other tutor (left in the front row) with the participants of the WSF Level 1 Coaching and Refresher Course 2017. 

Our President Mr. David Mui, MH JP, met with Mr. Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee and Mr. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, President of the Olympic Council of Asia for lunch during the 2017 National Games of China in Tianjin.

“I took this great opportunity to thank both presidents for their support of ensuring squash to be remained in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia and introducing the sport into the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games. At our meeting, I also introduced the successful development of squash in Asia and in the World over these years and lobbied them to support squash into the 2024 Olympic Games. Their feedback was very positive. They also reassured us of showing great appreciation to the work we've done as well as encouraging us to keep up with the good work," said Mr. Mui.

"I wish the 2024 Olympic Bid all the success,” Mr. Mui concluded with faith.

The 24^th Asian Junior Individual Championships 2017 has come to a successful conclusion on Saturday, 19 August at Amman, Jordan. At his hometown, Mohammad Al-Sarraj wins Jordan the first-ever Asian Junior Under 19 Boys’ Individual Championship title by beating his Pakistani opponent Mansoor Zaman in 5 sets. On the other hand, the Japanese top junior woman’s player, Satomi Watanabe, also brings home the first gold medal of the Asian Junior Under 19 Girls’ Individual Championship.

Besides, Macau China also made history of having their first medal in the Asian Junior Individual Championships after its girls' player Yeung Weng Chi finished co-3rd with Navmi Shama of India in the Girls' Under 17 Category.

The 5-day Championships has attracted the top junior squash players from 13 Asian countries to compete in the eight categories: Boys and Girls, each with Under 19, Under 17, Under 15 and Under 13 four age group. Malaysian Team is again the big winner of the Championships of gaining 5 Golds in the Boys Under 17, Under 15 and Under 13 as well as in the Girls Under 15 and Under 13 respectively. The all-Hong-Kong-final of the Girls Under 17 Category allows Hong Kong to clinch one gold medal.

“Congratulations to all the winners and the member nations. I would also like to thank Jordan Squash Federation, who made the Championships all the success and a wonderful memory for all the participants. Thanks should also be extended to all the officials, referees and the parents,” said Mr. David Mui MH, JP, the ASF’s President.

Please click here for the full set of draws and results. For photos of the events, please download from the facebook of the Jordan Squash Federation, who will continue to upload more photos.

Results of the 24th Asian Junior Individual Championships 2017

BU19

Gold - Mohammad Al-Sarraj (Jordan)

Silver - Mansoor Zaman (Pakistan)

Bronze - Alireza Shameli (Iran) / Abdul Malik (Pakistan)

BU17

Gold - Xiow Yee Xian (Malaysia)

Silver - Tushar Shahani (India)

Bronze -  To Wai Lok (Hong Kong, China) / Danial Nurhaqiem Bin Shah Izham (Malaysia)

BU15

Gold - Muhammad Amir Amirul Bin Azhar (Malaysia)

Silver - Neel Joshi (India)

Bronze - Danial Gharooni (Iran) / Asad Ullah (Pakistan)

BU13

Gold - Joachim Chuah Han Wen (Malaysia)

Silver - Yuvraj Wadhwani (India)

Bronze - Paarth Ambani (India) / Mohammad Huzaifa Ibrahim (Pakistan)

GU19

Gold - Satomi Watanabe (Japan)

Silver - Ho Ka Wing (Hong Kong, China)

Bronze - Ashita Pranaya Bhengra (India) / Sunayna Kuruvilla (India)

GU17

Gold - Chan Sin Yuk (Hong Kong, China)

Silver - Lui Hiu Lam (Hong Kong, China)

Bronze - Navmi Shama (India) / Yeung Weng Chi (Macau, China)

GU15

Gold - Jessica Keng Jiai Hui (Malaysia)

Silver - Kiroshanna Manoharan (Malaysia)

Bronze - Ananya Dabke (India) / Yoshna Singh (India)

GU13

Gold - Aira Azman (Malaysia)

Silver - Lam Tse Yee, Toby (Hong Kong, China)

Bronze -  Tam Mariko Cho Nga (Hong Kong) / Yuvna Gupta (India)

The 24th Asian Junior Squash Individual Championships 2017 will kick off tomorrow in Amman, Jordan. This top junior squash event, which will be held from 15 to 19 August, has attracted 128 players from 13 countries, which include Hong Kong China, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Lebanon, Macau China, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar and Sri Lanka.

Amongst the participating countries, both India and Sri Lanka sent the biggest teams with 32 junior players each to fight for medals of the 8 Age Categories. 

For the full draws and update results of the Championships, please visit the event website.

This summer, Asian players shone again in the world squash arena and demonstrated their impeccable skills and strength in different world events. 

At the WSF World Junior Squash Championships, which was held 19 – 29 July in Tauranga, New Zealand, Mohammad Al Sarraj from Jordan and Satomi Watanabe clinched the bronze medal in the World Junior Men’s and Junior Women’s Individual Championship respectively. For the Junior Women’s Team event, Malaysia and Hong Kong also won a silver and a bronze medal respectively.

“Junior development has always been the top priority of the sport in the region. I’m pleased to see the rewarding results of our member nations, especially for the Japan Squash Association, who has won their first-ever medal in the World Junior Championship. I would like to congratulate them on making this historic achievement. Congratulations would also go to all winners and the participating countries,” said Mr. David Mui, MH JP, the ASF’s President.

On the other hand, the Asian senior players, who don’t want the juniors to outshine them, also gained outstanding results in the World Games Squash Championships and the WSF World Doubles Squash Championships. 

Joey Chan from Hong Kong and Nicol David from Malaysia won a silver and a bronze medal respectively in the World Games Women’s Squash Championship, which was held in Wroclaw Poland. While in the WSF World Doubles Squash Championships in Manchester, England, India’s Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal also brought home a World Women’s Doubles’ bronze medal.

The Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee (BAYOGOC) has confirmed that squash would be included as a showcase sport at the Youth Olympic Games 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina October next year.

"It is exciting, yet encouraging news! After our hard work and persistent lobbying throughtout these years, we are delighted to see squash is moving step by step towards the ultimate goal of Olympic Games inclusion," said Mr David Mui, our President, who has been heavily involved in Squash Olympic Bid since the 2012 Hong Kong Open, a successful inspection event hosted by Hong Kong Squash (where Mr Mui is the Chairman) for the International Olympic Committee's inspectors for the 2020 Olympic bid.

The Games Organising Committee would take the Youth Olympic Games to the next level as an event for all young people to participate. The Committee would introduce the “four-parks concept”, which would allow participants to experience "a fusion of elite sport competition, music, culture and arts festivals, sport initiation, showcasing and educational programmes". And squash has been chosen to be part of this as a showcase sport.

"This fruitful result is definitely a collective work of our squash colleagues. I would like to congratulate WSF and the Olympic Games Commission. The impeccable leadership of all the presidents over the years, specially Jacques Fontaine, the current president, Mr. Ramachandran, Mr. Jahangir Khan and Susie Simcock (past presidents), as well as the hard work of the colleagues at the WSF Olympic Games Commission has made this happen," continued Mr. Mui.

For details of the Youth Olympic Games 2018, please visit the official website.

The first-ever ASF Level 2 Coaching Course hosted by the Japan Squash Association was successfully concluded on 25 June 2017, in Kanagawa in Japan. The course tutored by Miyuki Adachi (Japan), has attracted 8 participants.

"I am very happy to see that there are more member nations hosting the ASF Level 2 Coaching Course. There were one hosted by Macau Squash Association in May, the JSA had its last Sunday, and there will be one to be held in December in Tehran, Iran. This is definitely a good sign for the sport in Asia, especially on the coaching aspect," commented by Tony Choi, the ASF Coaching Director. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank JSA and Miyuki for hosting and conducting such a successful course. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to Major Maniam, who took his time to be the supervisor of the course."

Photo Caption:

Mr Tony Choi, ASF Coaching Director (3rd from the right on back row), Ms Noriko Kamiya, Secretary General of JSA (far right on back row), Major Maniam, supervisor of the course (2^nd from the right on back row), and Ms Miyuki Adachi, the course tutor (far left in front row), with the participants of the ASF Level 2 Coaching Course in Kanagawa, Japan in June.

The first-ever ASF Level 2 Coaching Course hosted by the Macau Squash Association was held over three weekends in April and May. Tutored by Tony Choi, the ASF Coaching Director and assisted by Dick Leung (Hong Kong, China), the course has attracted 7 participants.

Photo Caption:

Mr William Kuan Vai Lam, Chairman of the Macau Squash Association (5^th from the right), Mr Tony Choi (6^th from the right), the tutor and Mr Dick Leung (4^th from the right), the other tutor, with the participants of the ASF Level 2 Coaching Course.

The Presentation Ceremony of the 2016 ASF Awards was held in conjunction with the Prize Presentation Ceremony of the 2017 Asian Individual Chamionships on Sunday, 30 April in Chennai, India.

On behalf of the ASF, Debendranath Sarangi, ASF's Vice President presented the awards to the winners, who attended at the Ceremony.

Photo Captions

Top row (left to right):

• Cyrus Poncha (India) - Coach of the Year
• Lim Chee Ming (Macau, China) - Development Coach of the Year, receives the awards from William Kuan Vai Lam, President of the EASF (left) and Tony Choi, ASF Coaching Director (right)
• Masoud Ghareh Ziaeddini (Iran) - Coaches Certificate of Recognition

Middle row (left to right):

• Hong Kong Women's World Team 2016 - Outstanding Women's Team of the Year
• Max Lee (Hong Kong, China) - Dato Alex Lee Award
• Annie Au (Hong Kong, China) - Dato Alex Lee Award

Bottom row (left to right):

• Ng Eain Yow (Malaysia) - Hassan Musa Award
• Sivasangari Subramaniam (Malaysia) - Hassan Musa Award
• Hong Kong Men's Asian Team 2016 - The Most Improved Team of the Year