Dubai: UAE No.1 squash player Khawaja Adil Maqbool is currently celebrating 50 months inside the top-100 of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world rankings this July.
The 26-year-old Pakistan national now hopes reaching the milestone will inspire him to surpass his best ever ranking of 66th, which he achieved in November 2008.
“I am extremely proud of making it to 50 months as a Top 100 player in the world,” said Maqbool. “I first broke into the Top 100 just before turning 17 years old and after falling out of the Top 200 when I stopped competing on the PSA World Tour to complete my degree from the UK, I have worked extremely hard to make it back.
“We had a minor setback two months ago when I injured my abductor [groin] but I have managed to stay among the Top 100. I have recovered and am now working very hard with my father and coach, Maqbool Khawaja, towards our next aim of getting back to my career best ranking of 66th.”
Maqbool’s achievement comes amid a year’s ban from the UAE Squash Association following an altercation with a spectator at the Dubai A2 Squash Tournament at Dubai’s Lakes Leisure Centre in June 2013.
Maqbool won the competition but was stripped of his title. The PSA ruled that the UAE Squash Association didn’t have the authority to ban Maqbool internationally. Maqbool can return to domestic competition next month.
“I have upcoming events in Pakistan in August, Jordan in September and Qatar in November. I also plan to compete in three tournaments in India and a few in Europe towards the end of the year. I just hope to stay injury free. There were too many distractions last year, but now I’m focused on my game,” he added.
