CHENNAI TO HOST SQUASH WORLD CUP 2011

By P. Vijian

CHENNAI, Sept 14 (Bernama) -- India will host the next World Cup Squash
championship in March, next year, where top players from 16 countries are
expected to compete.

India has become the second Asian nation to host the tournament, after
Malaysia hosted the inaugural event in 1996. Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu
state, is the venue.

Netherlands played host for the championship in 1999.

"We are expecting the top 16 squash-playing nations to participate in the
championship that will be played on an all-glass show court in Chennai," Major
(Rtd) S. Maniam, consultant coach for Squash Racquets Federation of India
(SRFI), told Bernama Tuesday.

The SDAT WSF (Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu-World Squash
Federation) World Cup has been slated for March 8 to 12, next year.

Chennai is also expected to host the biennial event in 2013 and 2015.

The championship would be played with two men and a woman format, and
favourite title contenders are Australia, Egypt, England, France, Malaysia,
Netherlands and hosts India, said Maniam, who is also Asian Squash Federation
director of coaching.

WSF chief executive Andrew Shelley said: "The World Cup is the only event in
the squash calendar in which we have a single competition for both men and
women.

"Having one which is staged every other year, starting next March, is a
major step forward."

Next year's event would feature a prize money of US$125,000 (RM387,500) with
US$50,000 (RM155,000) going to the winning team.
-- BERNAMA