KARACHI, 20 July 2007 — Pakistan squash’s leading lady is set to miss the country’s premier women’s squash tournament for a second successive year because of fitness problems.

Carla Khan, a former world No. 21, is unlikely to feature in the 3rd POF WISPA Squash Tournament to be held in Wah Cantt next month as she has been unable to regain her fitness since collapsing during last year’s South Asian Games in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She was unable to defend her title in the 2nd POF event last September because of sickness.

Carla, a granddaughter of Pakistani squash legend Azam Khan, has not played any competitive squash since the Colombo incident but is planning to make a successful comeback on the international circuit later this year.

A Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) official said that Carla has been invited at this year’s POF WISPA tournament to be held in Wah from Aug. 22 to 27.

However, he conceded that chances of Carla’s participation in the event are slim.

“We have written to Carla to inquire about her plans for the POF WAH Open,” PSF secretary Wing Cmdr Shamsul Haq told Arab News.

“She is our leading player and we want her to play in the event,” he added.

Shams said that so far Carla has not responded to the invitation. “We are still awaiting her response though we fear that Carla is still not fully fit to play on the international circuit.”

Carla, 25, is still the highest ranked Pakistani player in the world even though her ranking has dropped to 91 this month as compared to a career-high No. 21 in the summer of 2004.

She won the inaugural POF WISPA Open in 2005 by beating England’s Genna Gates in the quarterfinals, Malaysia’s Delia Arnold in the semis and Malaysian second seed Sharon Wee in the final 3-0.

In Carla’s absence, Wee won the crown comfortably last year.

Wee is currently ranked No. 19 in the world and if she does decide to defend her title in WAH this year she would mostly likely be the top seed. The 2007 POF WISPA Open would offer a prize purse of $10,900.

The two-day qualifying rounds will be played on August 22-23 while the main rounds will be held from August 24-27.

If Carla stays away from the event, then Pakistan’s main hope for the title would be Maria Toor Pakay. The young Maria reached the semifinal of last year’s tournament but lost to Delia Arnold, who is now ranked No. 45 in the world.

Two other local girls — Muqaddas Ashraf and Saima Shaukat — made it to the last-eight in 2006 but were unable to impress much in the quarterfinals.

Shams said that the PSF would take steps to ensure that the local girls go into the POF Open well-prepared. “We would organize a training camp for our leading girls who will also take part in a league tournament before the POF WISPA Open,” said Shams.

When it comes to prize money, the POF WISPA Open is just a minor event but Pakistani officials give it a lot of importance as it is the only women’s event on the PSF calendar that carries world ranking points.

In recent years, PSF has made substantial investment in women’s squash and there has been slow yet steady progress.

Five of their players are in the top-200 list of the world rankings.