Vikram, Farida get top billing in HCL-SRFI launch PSA Challenger tour

India's Vikram Malhotra and Egypt's Farida Mohamed have been given top billing in the men's and women's sections in the inaugural PSA tournament, which is part of the HCL-SRFI India Tour, beginning at the Jaypee Greens Stadium at Greater Noida on Friday. The 29-year-old Vikram, a former World No 55, and Farida, ranked 50, will be the favourites to lift the trophy in the tournament which was launched as part of a multi-city PSA Challenger tour by HCL and the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) on Thursday.

"I had double ankle injuries three months back so it is a comeback tournament for me and I have to reach the final or win it to gather points. So, I hope to put up a good show," said Vikram, who has six PSA titles under his belt. Apart from Vikram, Aditya Jagtap, Aadit Zaveri, Abhishek Pradhan and Abhishek Agarwal will be some of the top Indian names featuring in the draw of 32 in the USD 12000 men's event.

Singapore's Chua Man Chin and Phillipines' Robert Andrew Garcia are also in the draw. Apart from Farida, four other Egypt players -- Salma Youssef, Menna Hamed, Menna Hamed and Hana Moataz -- will be among the top players featuring in the USD 6000 women's event.

"The winner of the women's event will get a direct entry to the World Championship in Egypt in November," said SRFI Secretary General Cyrus Poncha. Apart from this tournament, HCL and SRFI plan to organize three more PSA tournaments across three cities. The next event will be in Chennai (October 12-16), while the next two tournaments are likely to be held at Mumbai and Kolkata.

Each of these events will overlap with a junior squash tournament to allow the young players an opportunity to interact with the senior players. The inaugural tournament, which will witness participation of international players from seven countries, will overlap with the HCL 11th Indian Junior Open, commencing on August 26.

This will be a 6-star tournament by SRFI and a Platinum event under the Asian Squash Federation calendar. "We are doing small events to grow our player's base. In the years to come when we play the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, we want to have a long line of players who can perform," Poncha said.

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